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rA^aw» 


*     JUL   6  1910 
OSlQkl  StW^ 


BV  210  .M26  1902 
McClure,  James  Gore  King, 

1848- 
A  mighty  means  of  usefulness 


A  MIGHTY  MEANS 
OF    USEFULNESS 


By  JAMES  G.  K.  McCLURE 

Just  Published 
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This  cheering,  inspiring  message  appeals  to  all  that  is 
noblest  and  best  in  the  young  heart.  It  swarms  with  illustra- 
tions and  examples  of  humanity's  helpers. —  The  Evangelical 

The  thoughts  presented  in  these  few  pages  may  well  prove 
an  inspiration  to  many  to  place  themselves  on  the  side  of  the 
world's  helpers. — Observer 

It  is  short,  pointed,  and  full  of  illustrations  from  life. — 
Cumberland  Presbyterian 


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Unusually  bright  and  pertinent  discourses,  full  of  the  Ameri- 
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Expository  Times  (Edinburgh) 

By  all  means  let  our  young  men  and  women  read  this  volume. 
It  will  stir  up  within  them  and  stimulate  many  a  good  purpose, 
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leaves  one  with  an  increased  appreciation  of  the  dignity  of  man 
as  a  creature  of  infinite  possibilities. —  Christian  Evangelist 


FLEMING   H.  REV  ELL  COMPANY 
Publishers 


*     JUL    6    19 


IF 

A  MIGHTY  MEANS 
OF    USEFULNESS 

A  Plea  for  Intercessory  Prayer 


/ML  St) 


BY 


REV.  JAMES  G.  K.  McCLURE 


Fleming    H.    Revell    Company 

Chicago,     New    York     &    Toronto 

Publishers  of  Evangelical  Literature 


COPYRIGHT,     I9O2, 

BY       F  L  E 

MING       H  . 

R  E VELL 

COMPANY 

M 

arch 

Contents* 

I.  The  Mighty  Ministry  of  Intercession  -  g 

II.  The  Talent  of  Intercession  25 

III.  For  Whom  Christ  Asks  Intercession  -  38 

IV.  The  Comforter  Sought  for  Service  -  53 

V.  Special  Petitions  for  Our  Beloved  -  66 

VI.  The  Christian  Worker's  Intercession  -  82 

VII.  Best  Requests  for  Best  People     -  -  97 

VIII.  Intercession  for  the  Unsaved          •  .  113 


Untrofcuctor^  IRote, 

The  purpose  of  this  book  is  to  exalt  the  power 
and  serviceableness  of  Intercessory  Prayer.  Many 
Christian  workers  lead  such  busy  lives,  every  hour 
being  claimed  for  speaking,  visiting,  studying  or 
the  like,  that  their  minds,  absorbed  in  such  duties, 
are  in  danger  of  minimizing  the  sacred  and  impor- 
tant duty  of  Intercession. 

I  earnestly  hope  that  this  book  will  remind  every 
reader  of  a  mighty  means  of  usefulness  that  is  avail- 
able to  us  all.  I  believe  that  sustained  Intercessory 
Prayer  will  hasten  the  day  of  Christ's  glory — that 
such  Intercessory  Prayer  is  one  of  the  largest  needs 
of  our  time.  If  the  reader  of  these  pages  will  give 
himself  anew  to  Intercessory  Prayer,  making  such 
Intercession  the  very  heart  of  his  Christian  activity, 
these  pages  will  have  accomplished  their  purpose. 

James  G.  K.  McClure. 
Lake  Forest,  III. 


Ube  /BMQbts  /IDinistrs  ot  t ntercesston. 

One  of  the  mightiest  instrumentalities  for  the 
world's  advance  is  intercessory  prayer — prayer  for 
others.  Some  souls  have  realized  this  fact.  One 
such  was  Samuel.  He  was  much  like  our  Wash- 
ington, a  wise,  practical  leader,  who  had  great 
forethought  and  who  secured  large  results. 

All  through  his  busy  public  career,  while  he  was 
trying  to  reform  and  elevate  Israel,  he  prayed  for 
Israel.  He  laid  proper  emphasis  on  instruction  and 
administration :  the  principles  that  he  taught  were 
the  soundest,  and  the  deeds  of  his  official  leader- 
ship were  flawless.  But  he  believed  that  his  full 
usefulness  to  his  fellow  men  and  his  full  devotion 
to  God  were  not  accomplished  until  he  had  prayed 
to  God  to  bless  men. 

To  Samuel  it  was  a  "sin  against  the  Lord"  not 
to  pray  for  others.  In  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
addresses  in  all  history,  an  address  that  reminds 
us  of  Washington's  Farewell  Address,  delivered  as 
he  was  retiring  from  public  leadership,  Samuel  so 

9 


A  Mighty  Means  of  Usefulness 

designated  failure  to  pray  for  others — a  "  sin  against 
the  Lord."  At  a  moment  that  was  in  many  respects 
the  consummate  moment  of  his  life,  a  life  eminently 
judicious,  pure  and  beneficial,  he  declared  that 
though  he  ceased  to  exercise  the  functions  of  official 
leadership,  one  thing  he  would  not  cease  to  do — 
pray  for  Israel ;  for  to  cease  doing  that  would  be  a 
sin. 

Some  such  startling  assertion  seems  necessary  to 
arouse  our  attention  to  the  wondrous  power  for 
God's  glory  and  for  human  good  that  there  is  in 
intercessory  prayer.  It,  too,  as  well  as  prophetic 
teaching  and  public  leadership,  may  be  a  mighty 
ministry  of  usefulness. 

An  incident  in  English  history  illustrates  this 
ministry.  Henry  VIII.  was  king  of  England. 
William  Tyndale,  a  scholar,  wished  to  translate  the 
Greek  New  Testament  into  English,  so  that  the 
English  people  could  have  God's  word  in  their 
own  tongue.  The  king  and  church  alike  refused 
to  allow  such  a  translation.  There  was  not  a  spot 
in  England  where  Tyndale  was  safe  to  carry  out 
his  project.  So  he  went  to  the  Continent.  There 
he  labored,  under  stress  and  difficulties.  He  made 
his  translation.  He  sent  it  over  to  England.  The 
authorities  burned  it.     Still  he  kept  at  his  work, 

IO 


The  Mighty  Ministry  of  Intercession 

perfecting  the  translation.  Enemies  dogged  his 
footsteps.  He  was  deceived,  betrayed,  imprisoned, 
and  at  last  burned  to  death.  His  dying  words  were 
a  prayer — a  prayer  of  intercession:  "Oh,  Lord, 
open  the  king  of  England's  eyes !" 

Little  did  it  seem  as  though  that  prayer  would 
be  answered.  The  king  was  set  against  the  circu- 
lation of  the  Bible  and  there  was  no  indication 
whatever  that  he  would  change  his  mind.  But  that 
true  prayer  of  intercession  had  been  offered.  All 
unselfishly  Tyndale  had  prayed  that  the  king's  eyes 
might  be  so  opened  that  he  would  see  what  a  bless- 
ing the  English  Bible  would  be  to  the  English  peo- 
ple, and  would  desire  the  people  to  have  that  Bible. 
The  prayer  was  answered!  In  a  little  time  Henry 
VIII.  saw  the  Bible  in  an  entirely  new  light. 
Instead  of  persecuting  those  who  favored  its  trans- 
lation he  helped  them.  He  even  gave  his  royal  sanc- 
tion to  the  issue  of  the  Bible.  The  English  trans- 
lation which  is  in  our  hands  today,  proclaims,  when- 
ever we  read  it,  that  the  prayer  of  intercession  pre- 
vails. The  English  Bible  is  a  witness  to  the  power 
of  intercessory  prayer. 

It  is  startling  to  us  sometimes — especially  when 
we  have  grown  careless  or  lukewarm  about  inter- 
cessory prayer — to  turn  to  the  Gospel  as  John  wrote 


A  Mighty  Means  of  Usefulness 

it  and  see  the  place  occupied  there  by  Christ's  in- 
tercessory prayer.  The  closing  hours  of  Christ's 
life  had  come.  He  poured  out  His  heart  to  His 
disciples.  So  helpful,  so  living  were  the  words  He 
then  spoke,  that  the  four  chapters  beginning  with 
"Let  not  your  heart  be  troubled, "  are  the  best  loved 
chapters  of  the  Bible.  How  do  they  end?  How 
does  Christ  conclude  His  last  opportunity  of  free 
association  with  His  disciples?  He  concludes  it 
with  a  prayer — a  prayer  not  for  Himself,  but  for 
them;  for  them  and  those  who  should  believe  on 
Him  through  their  words.  This  was  His  last 
legacy,  His  crowning  service  to  mankind,  ere  He 
died. 

Earlier  in  His  ministry  He  had  said  to  Peter, 
"I  have  prayed  for  thee."  Peter  had  no  thought 
whatever  of  his  particular  need :  he  did  not  and 
could  not  foresee  that  he  would  be  exposed  to  pe- 
culiar temptations  that  might  lead  him  to  forsake 
his  Master,  and  even  to  deny  Him.  But  Christ 
foresaw  the  whole  exposure,  and,  in  anticipation, 
Christ  prayed  for  him.  When  the  temptations  came, 
and  Peter  did  deny  his  Lord,  Peter  did  not  utterly 
fail,  because  the  prayer  of  intercession  prevailed.  In 
the  very  hour  of  denial  Peter's  heart  melted,  and 
penitently  he  came  back  to  Christ. 

13 


The  Mighty  Ministry  of  Intercession 

We  can  follow  this  special  prayer  of  intercession 
by  Christ  for  Peter  and  we  can  note  its  effects.  We 
cannot  in  the  same  way  follow  the  general  prayer 
of  intercession  as  given  in  John's  seventeenth  chap- 
ter, and  note  its  particular  answers.  Yet  we  do  not 
doubt  that  the  courage  of  James  at  Jerusalem,  and 
the  sweetness  of  John  at  Patmos,  and  the  safety 
and  peace  of  hundreds  like  our  own  selves  all  over 
the  world,  were  secured  through  that  very  prayer. 

How  much  this  world  of  ours  would  have  lost 
had  there  been  no  intercessory  prayer!  Stephen 
prayed  for  the  group  of  people  who  stood  about  him 
as  he  was  being  stoned  to  death — and  lo,  out  of  that 
group  comes  a  young  man,  Paul,  who  gives  his 
whole  heart  and  life  to  the  cause  of  Christ.  What 
an  omission  it  would  have  been  if  Stephen  had  not 
prayed!  Away  back  in  distant  days,  when  Israel 
contended  with  the  Amalekites  in  the  valley,  Moses 
was  on  the  mountain,  with  Aaron  and  Hur  at  his 
sides.  Moses  stretched  out  his  arms  in  prayer,  that 
God  would  give  victory  to  Israel.  The  day  dragged 
on.  Moses  was  old  and  his  arms  heavy.  But 
Aaron  and  Hur  helped  him,  upholding  his  out- 
stretched arms  in  supplication :  and  when  the  day 
went  down,  victory  was  with  Israel. 

Intercessory  prayer — to  prevail — is  to  be  unself- 

*3 


A  Mighty  Means  of  Usefulness 

ish.  All  prayer  says,  "Not  my  will,  but  Thine,  be 
done."  We  are  never  to  pray  for  things  merely 
pleasing  to  us,  irrespective  of  their  relation  to  that 
holy  will  of  God  which  embraces  all  His  creatures 
as  well  as  our  particular  selves.  Pure  and  devoted 
souls  will  not  obtrude  their  individual  interests  as 
imperative,  among  counsels  that  pertain  to  all  hu- 
manity. Not  one  of  us  should  ask  God  to  make  the 
day  clear  for  him  or  her — unless  a  clear  day  is  best 
for  all  the  interests  of  God's  will.  Our  health  and 
strength  and  the  health  and  strength  of  our  friends 
are  to  be  sought  by  us  only  as  they  minister  to  the 
advance  of  God's  blessed  wishes  for  us  and  others. 

Intercessory  prayer!  for  whom  shall  it  be  of- 
fered ?  Intercession  is  always  for  persons ;  we  sup- 
plicate for  things,  we  intercede  for  persons.  Who 
shall  these  persons  be?  ''For  kings  and  for  all 
that  are  in  authority,"  Paul  says.  "Kings  and  all 
that  are  in  authority"  is  an  inclusive  designation 
comprehending  all  charged  with  the  responsibilities 
of  public  oversight  and  public  welfare. 

Tyndale  prayed  for  Henry  VIII. ;  we  are  to  pray 
for  all  rulers. 

The  design  of  such  prayer  is  defined,  namely: 
that  rulers  shall  so  use  their  power  that  "the  people 


The  Mighty  Ministry  of  Intercession 

may  lead  a  quiet  and  peaceable  life  in  all  godliness 
and  honesty."  The  prayer  is  not  that  our  special 
officer,  whoever  he  may  be,  police  magistrate,  justice 
of  the  peace,  mayor,  governor,  president,  may  be 
preserved  in  strength  and  may  conduct  his  office  so 
as  to  secure  the  praise  of  his  particular  following: 
but  it  is  that  every  officer  may  administer  his  station 
to  the  good  of  others  "in  all  godliness  and  hon- 
esty."  Intercessory  prayer  rises  above  a  party,  an 
administration,  a  sect,  a  college,  a  corporation;  it 
views  all  things  in  the  light  of  eternal  and  world- 
embracing  principles — principles  of  righteousness 
and  goodness  and  truth — and  in  reality  it  asks  that 
those  who  hold  office  shall  be  men  who  carry  out  the 
very  will  of  God — for  the  good  of  humanity. 

Of  such  prayer  there  never  can  be  too  much. 
Office  is  deceptive.  Office  has  power,  and  often 
that  power  in  itself  gives  a  sense  of  self-sufficiency 
to  the  person  who  holds  it.  "Is  this  not  great  Baby- 
lon that  /  have  builded?"  boasted  Nebuchadnezzar. 
To  whom,  forsooth,  was  he  responsible?  Men  and 
women  in  the  line  of  hereditary  monarchies  often 
forget  that  their  authority,  as  all  authority  of  any 
kind,  is  a  God-conferred  gift,  and  that  they  must 
use  it  as  God  wishes,  else  they  desecrate  it.  Even 
when  people  have  temporary  authority  conferred 

*5 


A  Mighty  Means  of  Usefulness 

upon  them  by  the  franchises  of  others,  they  may 
give  their  constituents  supreme  place  in  considera- 
tion, and  thus  rest  their  dependence  upon  those 
constituents  rather  than  upon  God.  To  keep  office 
by  pleasing  their  constituents  becomes  their  chief 
aim.  The  temptation  to  do  this  is  fearful.  Knox 
did  not  care  for  office,  did  not  care  whether  the 
queen  honored  him  or  dishonored  him,  whether  she 
let  him  live  or  put  him  to  death.  What  Knox  cared 
for  was  Scotland's  welfare.  He  did  not  consult, 
nor  did  he  fear,  the  will  of  men:  he  consulted  and 
he  feared  the  will  of  God  alone. 

Today  there  is  not  a  person  bearing  authority 
who  does  not  need  our  intercessory  prayer.  Paul 
held  his  apostleship  by  a  special  call  thereto,  but 
in  his  sense  of  insufficiency,  he  said,  "Pray  for  us." 
Every  minister  needs  prayer.  He  has  his  own  pe- 
culiar temptations:  to  formality,  to  slackness,  to 
discouragement.  He  may  do  and  say  very  foolish 
things;  he  may  be  like  the  shepherds  of  prophetic 
days  who  cried  peace  when  there  was  no  peace,  and 
denied  the  people  the  spiritual  food  they  lacked. 
On  the  other  hand  a  minister  of  pure  motives  and 
true  piety  may  be  a  great  blessing.  The  people 
prayed,  and  when  Peter  stood  up  at  Pentecost, 
three  thousand  hearts  were  changed.     The  people 

16 


The  Mighty  Ministry  of  Intercession 

prayed  all  night  for  John  Livingstone,  and  when 
next  day  at  Shotts  he  preached,  five  hundred  souls 
came  to  Christ.  A  praying  people  make  a  power- 
ful ministry.  This  is  not  due  merely  to  the  fact 
that  knowledge  of  their  prayers  cheers  the  minister, 
though  cheer  him  it  does.  When  Spurgeon 
stepped  forward  into  his  tabernacle  pulpit  on  a 
Sunday  morning,  with  his  large  band  of  deacons 
around  him — men  who  had  spent  a  half  hour  in 
prayer  that  God's  words  through  Spurgeon's  lips 
might  bring  glory  to  God — Spurgeon  himself 
felt  stronger  and  the  people  who  knew  what 
had  taken  place  felt  the  more  expectant.  For  if 
there  is  anything  God  specially  delights  to  own, 
it  is  prayer  that  the  Holy  Spirit  may  be  in  the  as- 
sembly of  His  worshipers.  God  "loves  the  gates 
of  Zion  more  than  all  the  dwellings  of  Jacob." 
Pray  then  for  the  minister,  have  children  pray  for 
him — not  for  his  sake,  but  for  the  people's  sake, 
and  for  God's  glory  in  the  people's  good.  What  an 
opportunity  for  continued  usefulness  every  invalid 
has,  and  everyone  detained  from  the  House  of  God 
has — to  pray  for  the  ministry  of  the  Gospel!  "God 
forbid,"  may  they  one  and  all  declare,  "God  forbid 
that  I  should  sin  against  the  Lord  in  ceasing  to 
pray  for  the  ministry." 

*7 


A  Mighty  Means  of  Usefulness 

Authority  is  wide-spread  and  diversified. 
Teachers  have  it.  They  too  are  exposed  to  tempta- 
tions— perhaps  to  be  unduly  dogmatic,  perhaps  to 
do  their  work  for  the  work's  sake,  perhaps  to  with- 
draw too  much  from  the  responsibilities  of  the 
Church,  and  the  burdens  of  the  State.  The  power 
for  good  of  a  teacher's  life,  if  that  life  be  earnest, 
scholarly,  unselfish  and  godly,  is  mighty.  Day  by 
day  there  comes  the  contact  between  the  teacher 
and  impressible  souls.  Little  by  little  truths  can  be 
indoctrinated,  ideals  magnified,  ambitions  purified. 
If  the  spirit  be  what  it  may  be,  the  effect  will  be, 
perhaps,  a  lifelong  blessing.  The  pupil  in  after  years 
will  express  views,  and  enforce  sentiments  that  to 
him  are  absolutely  his  own — and  still  it  was  the 
teacher  away  back  in  the  past,  who  somehow  so 
inculcated  all  these  views  and  sentiments  that  the 
teacher,  not  the  pupil,  is  their  real  author. 

Teachers  need  prayer — prayer  that  they  may  be 
patient,  that  they  may  see  good  possibilities  in  every 
pupil,  and  that  they  may  endeavor  to  bring  out 
those  possibilities  in  all  "godliness  and  honesty." 
We  wish  sound  views  of  society,  of  business  and  of 
government  taught ;  we  wish  the  eternal  principles 
of  righteousness  engrafted  upon  young  life.  When 
a  man  or  woman  so  arouses  the  nobility  of  pupils 

18 


The  Mighty  Ministry  of  Intercession 

that  the  pupils  scorn  to  do  the  wrong  or  the  petty 
thing,  and  aspire  after  standards  that  are  Christ- 
like,  then  the  teacher  fulfills  his  mission.  But  the 
very  best  teacher  is  in  danger  of  carrying  a  heavy 
heart  because  routine  is  so  unceasing,  and  drudgery 
so  persistent.  We  do  well  then  to  pray  that  he 
may  always  come  to  his  classes  like  a  benediction 
and  that  his  personal  fellowship  with  his  pupils 
may  be  an  unceasing  inspiration. 

Nor  may  we  leave  out  from  "authority"  employ- 
ers of  labor.  Certainly  such  employers  have  their 
peculiar  temptations.  Often  they  are  deceived, 
often  they  are  severely  tried  by  the  slackness  and 
unfaithfulness  of  their  employees.  The  superior 
mental  and  material  gifts  whereby  employers  hold 
authority  may  prove  a  snare  to  their  hearts.  Be- 
cause others  have  a  lower  order  of  talent  employers 
may,  forsooth,  look  down  on  the  others.  Self-made 
men  find  it  hard  to  deal  gently  with  those  whose 
incapacity  always  keeps  them  weaklings.  But  these 
self-made  men  are  under  special  responsibilities. 
Because  God  has  made  them  leaders,  God  has  com- 
mitted the  welfare  of  tens,  twenties,  hundreds, 
thousands,  into  their  hands.  Their  views,  their 
decisions,  their  example,  are  fraught  with  mighty 
influence.     The  tendency  with  many  men  concern- 

19 


A  Mighty  Means  of  Usefulness 

ing  these  employers  is,  not  to  pray  for  them,  but 
to  berate  them.  Fault  is  "found  with  their  deficien- 
cies, and  sometimes  even  antagonism  is  aroused 
against  them. 

The  whole  world  today,  even  where  there  are 
Christian  churches,  is  filled  with  those  who  do  not 
understand  one  another.  The  effort  to  maintain 
interests  dear  to  one  set  of  people  seems  to  blind 
the  eyes  of  that  set  to  the  interests  dear  to  another 
set.  Hence  the  opposition  and  the  bitterness.  But 
it  is  far,  far  better  to  pray  for  "captains  of  indus- 
try" than  to  arouse  hatred  against  them.  Employers 
are  but  weak,  fallible  men,  to  whom  God  has  as- 
signed tremendous  responsibility.  Let  us  ask  him 
to  open  their  eyes,  as  the  eyes  of  Henry  VIII.  were 
opened,  and  the  result  will  be,  that  the  hearts  of 
employers  will  become  wise  and  the  lives  of  em- 
ployees will  become  enriched. 

The  prayer  of  intercession  offered  for  all  that 
are  in  authority,  offered  not  as  a  perfunctory  utter- 
ance, but  offered  straight  out  of  a  burdened  heart, 
assures  all  that  are  in  authority  that  we  understand 
their  burdens,  sympathize  with  their  difficulties  and 
expect  "godliness  and  honesty"  to  characterize  their 
purposes.  A  man  in  authority  who  is  careless  or 
wicked  is  a  libel  on  his  station;  authority  is  con- 


The  Mighty  Ministry  of  Intercession 

ferred  by  God  only — that  he  who  has  it  may  strive 
to  make  this  world  a  happy,  beautiful  place  for 
every  human  life. 

Our  prayer  of  intercession  is  not  complete  when 
offered  merely  for  those  in  authority;  it  is  to  be 
offered  "for  all  men."  When  the  High  Priest 
came  into  the  Holy  of  Holies  with  the  breastplate 
over  his  heart,  the  name  of  every  tribe  was  en- 
graved on  that  breastplate.  Face  to  face  with  God 
he  interceded  for  all.  We  all  need  intercession. 
Whittier  expresses  in  "The  Prayer  Seeker"  the  call 
of  every  human  soul  for  our  sympathy  and  inter- 
cession. 

"Along  the  aisle  where  prayer  was  made 
A  woman,  all  in  black  arrayed, 
Close  veiled,  between  the  kneeling  host, 
With  gliding  motion  of  a  ghost, 
Passed  to  the  desk  and  laid  thereon 
A  scroll  which  bore  these  words  alone, 
Tray  for  me!' 

"Back  to  the  night  from  whence  she  came 
To  unimagined  grief  or  shame ! 
Across  the  threshold  of  that  door 
None  knew  the  burden  that  she  bore; 
Alone  she  left  the  written  scroll, 
The  legend  of  a  troubled  soul, — 
Tray  for  me!' 

"Glide  on,  poor  ghost  of  woe  or  sin! 
Thou  leav'st  a  common  need  within; 


A  Mighty  Means  of  Usefulness 

Each  bears,  like  thee,  some  nameless  weight, 
Some  misery  inarticulate, 
Some  secret  sin,  some  shrouded  dread, 
Some  household  sorrow  all  unsaid. 
Tray  for  us !' 

"He  prayeth  best  who  leaves  unguessed 
The  mystery  of  another's  breast. 
Why  cheeks  grow  pale,  why  eyes  o'erflow, 
Or  heads  are  white,  thou  need'st  not  know. 
Enough  to  note  by  many  a  sign 
That  every  heart  hath  needs  like  thine. 
'Pray  for  us  !'  " 

In  Mr.  Moody's  long  and  useful  labors  there 
was  one  story  that  he  loved  to  tell  because  it  sug- 
gested the  glory  of  God  and  in  no  wise  suggested 
the  glory  of  Mr.  Moody.  He  told  it  to  indicate  his 
belief  in  the  power  of  prayer.    This  is  the  story : 

"After  the  Chicago  fire  he  went  to  London  to  rest 
and  to  learn  from  the  Bible  scholars  there.  He  had 
no  intention  of  preaching.  One  Sunday  morning 
he  was  persuaded  to  preach  in  a  church  in  London. 
Everything  about  the  service  dragged.  He  wished 
that  he  had  never  consented  to  preach.  There  was 
a  woman  in  the  city  who  had  heard  of  Mr.  Moody's 
work  in  America  and  had  been  asking  God  to  send 
him  to  London.  This  woman  was  an  invalid.  Her 
sister  was  present  at  the  church  that  Sunday  morn- 
ing.   When  the  hearer  reached  home  she  asked  her 

22 


The  Mighty  Ministry  of  Intercession 

sister  to  guess  who  had  spoken  for  them  that  morn- 
ing. She  guessed  one  after  another  of  those  with 
whom  her  pastor  was  in  the  habit  of  exchanging, 
never  guessing  aright.  Her  sister  said,  'No,  Mr. 
Moody  from  Chicago.'  The  sick  woman  turned 
pale,  and  said,  'This  is  an  answer  to  my  prayer.  If 
I  had  known  that  he  was  to  be  at  our  church,  I 
should  have  eaten  nothing  this  morning,  but  waited 
on  God  in  prayer.  Leave  me  alone  this  afternoon :  do 
not  let  anyone  come  to  see  me ;  do  not  send  me  any- 
thing to  eat.'  All  that  afternoon  that  woman  gave 
herself  to  prayer.  As  Mr.  Moody  preached  that 
night,  he  soon  became  conscious  that  there  was  a 
different  atmosphere  in  the  church.  'The  powers  of 
an  unseen  world  seemed  to  fall'  upon  him  and  his 
hearers.  As  he  drew  to  a  close  he  felt  impressed  to 
give  out  an  invitation.  He  asked  for  all  who  would 
accept  Christ  to  rise.  Four  or  five  hundred  people 
rose.  He  thought  that  they  misunderstood  him, 
and  so  he  put  the  question  several  ways  that  there 
might  be  no  mistake.  But  no,  they  had  understood. 
He  then  asked  them  to  go  to  an  adjoining  room. 
As  they  passed  out,  he  asked  the  pastor  of  the 
church  who  these  people  were.  He  replied,  T  do 
not  know.'  'Are  they  your  people?'  'Some  of 
them.'     'Are  they  Christians?'     'I  do  not  think  so.' 

23 


A  Mighty  Means  of  Usefulness 

In  that  adjoining  room  he  put  the  question  very 
strongly,  but  still  there  were  just  as  many  who 
rose.  He  told  them  to  meet  their  pastor  the  next 
night.  Next  day  he  left  for  Dublin,  but  no  sooner 
had  he  reached  there  than  he  received  a  telegram 
from  the  pastor  saying  that  he  must  return  and  help 
him,  for  a  great  revival  had  commenced,  and  there 
were  more  out  the  second  night  than  the  first.  Hun- 
dreds were  added  to  the  church  at  the  time." 

That  was  the  beginning  of  Mr.  Moody's  work  as 
an  international  evangelist.  Out  of  that  work  came 
the  religious  quickening  of  Great  Britain  and  Ire- 
land, and  the  salvation  of  thousands  upon  thousands 
of  souls  throughout  the  world.  Well  was  it  for 
England  and  all  Europe  that  the  invalid  woman  did 
not  cease  to  pray  for  the  ministry  of  God's  world. 


24 


TLbc  talent  of  flntercesston. 

Not  everyone  realizes  that  ability  to  pray  is  a 
talent.  When  the  Rev.  Charles  G.  Finney,  about 
1830,  was  laboring  for  deeper,  stronger  religious 
life  among  the  people  of  Western  New  York,  there 
was  one  man  whose  praying  seems  to  have  done 
very  much  toward  obtaining  the  desired  results.  In 
Utica,  Syracuse,  Binghamton,  Rochester,  Rome, 
great  numbers  of  persons  were  aroused  to  new 
earnestness.  Great  numbers,  also,  renouncing  sin, 
entered  upon  the  Christian  life.  In  all  that  coun- 
try religion  became  the  foremost  thing.  It  leavened 
society  and  business.  It  controlled  ambition.  The 
person  who,  as  the  world  saw,  was  the  one  through 
whom  these  results  were  secured,  was  the  preacher, 
Mr.  Finney. 

But  there  was  another  person  who  had  part  in 
these  results,  Mr.  Abel  Clary.  He  never  appeared 
in  public  gatherings.  He  gave  himself  wholly  to 
private  prayer.  He  was  an  educated  man.  He 
had  been  licensed  to  preach.     He  preached,  how- 

25 


A  Mighty  Means  of  Usefulness 

ever,  very  little.  He  was  so  burdened  with  the  souls 
of  men  that  he  gave  almost  his  whole  time  and 
strength  to  intercession.  He  was  a  very  silent  man. 
Mr.  Finney  had  known  him  from  boyhood  and  had 
the  greatest  respect  for  his  character.  This  Mr. 
Clary,  lying  in  bed  as  a  consumptive,  and  drawing  a 
little  table  to  his  side,  would  write  in  his  journal 
day  by  day,  "My  heart  has  been  moved  to  pray  for 
Utica,  for  Syracuse,  for  Binghamton,  for  Rochester, 
for  Rome."  After  Mr.  Clary's  death,  Mr.  Finney 
obtained  this  memorandum  book  and  found  that  in 
the  precise  order  of  the  burden  laid  upon  that  man's 
heart  was  the  order  of  blessing  as  poured  upon  Mr. 
Finney's  ministry  in  the  places  named.  Among 
other  notes  he  discovered  a  memorandum  about 
Ceylon.  Looking  into  the  records  of  the  American 
Board,  he  found  that  at  the  time  when  Mr.  Clary 
was  praying  on  his  sickbed  for  Ceylon,  there  had 
been  a  great  forward  movement  in  that  land. 

We  are  familiar  with  the  thought  that  every  tal- 
ent we  possess  or  can  possess  should  be  cultivated. 
Sometimes  the  talent  is  that  of  money-making, 
sometimes  that  of  public  speaking,  sometimes  that 
of  doing  drudgery  faithfully.  We  believe  in  many 
kinds  of  talents,  and  we  believe  that  every  individual 
has  some  special  talent,  given  him  by  God,  to  be 

26 


The  Talent  of  Intercession 

used  for  the  world's  good.  The  man  who  knows 
how  to  lay  a  drain  well  has  a  great  opportunity  of 
aiding  the  public  health.  The  woman  who  can  reg- 
ulate a  home's  atmosphere  so  that  it  shall  be  re- 
ligiously beneficial  also  has  a  great  opportunity. 
Every  now  and  then,  when  someone  stands  forth 
very  prominently  as  a  writer,  or  as  a  speaker,  or  as 
a  philanthropist,  we  say,  "What  a  great  talent  that 
person  has !"  We  immediately  think  "What  a  loss 
the  world  would  suffer  if  that  person's  talent  should 
not  be  used !"  Certainly  our  world  would  be  the 
poorer  if  a  Victor  Hugo  had  not  written  his  books, 
and  a  Henry  Ward  Beecher  had  not  preached  his 
sermons,  and  a  George  Peabody  had  not  erected  his 
buildings.  The  whole  of  Western  New  York  and 
great  parts  of  Ohio  and  Illinois,  affected  by  the 
men  who  came  from  western  New  York,  would 
have  suffered  a  distinct  and  grievous  loss  had  not 
Mr.  Finney  spoken  and  labored  as  he  did. 

But  do  we  keep  to  the  front  in  our  minds  this 
thought,  that  there  is  a  talent  of  prayer  as  truly  as 
there  are  other  talents?  Mr.  Clary  used  the  talent 
of  prayer  as  God  entrusted  it  to  him.  The  results 
of  his  use  of  intercession  were  very  great.  Thou- 
sands of  lives  would  have  been  the  poorer  had  he 
not  used  his  talent. 

27 


A  Mighty  Means  of  Usefulness 

There  are  many  worthy  people  asking  themselves 
what  more  they  can  do  to  advance  the  good  of  the 
world.  They  give  themselves  to  every  kind  of 
beautiful  enterprise;  they  provide  holidays  for  the 
weary;  they  take  little  children  from  the  crowd  of 
the  city  to  the  open  spaces  of  the  country ;  they  nurse 
the  sick ;  they  furnish  safe  pleasures  to  the  tempted ; 
they  teach;  they  preach;  they  do  everything  that 
human  ingenuity,  under  the  inspiration  of  Christian 
love,  can  suggest.  The  many  beautiful  agencies  of 
help,  all  under  Christ  and  all  for  Christ,  at  work  in 
the  world  are  legion.  Let  not  one  of  them  be 
relaxed.  Let  all  be  sustained,  and  let  a  thousand 
more  be  added  to  them  as  opportunity  may  arise. 
Ability  to  use  any  or  all  of  these  agencies  is  a  talent. 
As  a  talent  let  it  be  magnified.  But  side  by  side 
with  these  different  talents  let  there  be  recognition 
of  still  another  talent,  a  talent  that  perhaps  some- 
times lies  wrapped  in  a  napkin  unused — the  talent 
of  intercession.  The  Yoriba  Christians  call  prayer 
"the  gift  of  the  knees,"  for  to  them  prayer  is  a 
special  endowment  directly  bestowed  by  God. 

Every  now  and  then  we  are  confronted  by  some 
grave  statements  concerning  the  use  of  this  talent 
of  intercession.  It  is  not  a  rare  occurrence  to  hear 
the  very  men  who,  we  might  think,  would  most  real- 

28 


The  Talent  of  Intercession 

ize  their  dependence  on  divine  help  confess  that 
their  own  personal  use  of  intercessory  prayer  is 
very  limited.  This  information  often  comes  out  at  a 
time  when  there  is  a  gathering  of  ministers,  or  per- 
haps a  more  general  gathering  of  Christian  "work- 
ers." The  questions  then  are  asked,  "How  much 
time  each  day  do  you  spend  in  interceding  with  God 
for  the  advance  of  His  work  ?  Is  it  an  hour,  a  half 
hour  ?  Is  it  fifteen  minutes  ?"  The  answers  to  such 
questions  are  startling.  The  number  of  persons 
who  regularly  give  fifteen  minutes  a  day  to  this 
means  of  blessing  is  very  small. 

Of  course  we  all  understand  that  intercession  is 
not  a  matter  of  place  nor  of  attitude.  Dr.  Henry 
M.  Scudder,  when  questioned  in  public  on  this  very 
subject,  once  said,  "I  walk  the  streets  of  Chicago, 
picking  my  way  in  and  out  of  the  multitudes  and 
I  am  praying  for  those  multitudes  every  minute." 
So  others  may  pray  as  did  Dr.  Scudder.  Wherever 
they  may  be — on  trains,  in  stores,  at  public  enter- 
tainments they  may  continually  and  earnestly  ask 
God  to  bless  those  who  are  around  them.  Such 
prayer  may  be  unobserved  by  any  human  eye,  but 
the  divine  eye  observes  it,  and  to  that  eye  it  is 
direct  prayer.  When  we  see  people  in  their  sorrow 
or  see  them  in  their  thoughtlessness  or  see  them, 

29 


A  Mighty  Means  of  Usefulness 

like  Lot,  exposing  their  children  by  too  near  resi- 
dence to  Sodom,  we  may  silently  lift  our  hearts  to 
God  for  them. 

While  not  one  word  passes  our  lips,  nor  one 
change  takes  place  in  our  bodily  attitude,  our  in- 
tercession is  true  intercession.  God  hears  it  and 
regards  it. 

Even  after  all  such  silent  prayer  has  been  reck- 
oned as  intercession,  how  large  a  place  does  such 
intercession  have  in  our  lives?  How  does  its  place 
compare  with  the  place  held  by  other  matters?  If 
the  place  is  a  small  one,  is  the  reason  for  that  small 
place  our  misunderstanding  of  the  value  of  inter- 
cessory prayer?  Have  we  thought  about  inter- 
cession as  a  talent  entrusted  to  us  for  whose  use 
we  are  responsible?  We  hear  the  calls  for  our 
money  and  we  try  to  respond  conscientiously  to 
cases  of  need.  We  intend  also  to  advocate  all  en- 
terprises that  make  for  the  welfare  of  humanity. 
We  hold  ourselves  ready  to  do  much  running,  think- 
ing, working  for  every  cause  known  to  be  dear  to 
Christ.  But  do  we  forget  that  Christ  spent  a  whole 
night  in  prayer  before  He  chose  His  twelve  fellow- 
workers  and  before  He  preached  His  Sermon  on 
the  Mount?  Do  we  forget  that  the  early  church 
continued  for  days  in  prayer  before  Peter's  words 

30 


The  Talent  of  Intercession 

at  Pentecost  could  be  effective?  Does  our  eye  fail 
to  note  that  Paul's  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians  has  two 
distinct  prayers  in  it,  as  though  Paul's  hope  for  the 
good  of  the  Ephesians  rested,  not  so  much  in  his 
words  of  instruction,  as  in  God's  power  and  bless- 
ing? 

The  history  of  the  Christian  church  never  has 
been  completely  written.  That  history  has  been 
attempted  and  well  attempted.  The  deeds  done  by 
men  in  the  name  and  for  the  sake  of  Christ  have 
been  told.  These  deeds  make  a  remarkable  record : 
the  record  of  all  martyrdoms,  of  all  missionary  ad- 
vances, of  all  philanthropic  conquests.  These  nine- 
teen hundred  years  have  witnessed  scenes  that  are 
well  calculated  to  stir  the  blood  and  make  brave  the 
heart  of  the  student  of  church  history.  But  nothing 
except  exterior  effects  and  the  supposed  motives 
back  of  these  exterior  effects  have  as  yet  been  de- 
scribed. The  throne  of  grace,  out  from  which  go 
the  answers  to  prayer,  is  curtained.  No  one  has 
been  able  to  draw  aside  that  curtain  and  show  the 
world  the  spiritual  helps  that  in  answer  to  prayer 
have  issued  from  that  throne.  It  is  by  these  helps 
that  history  largely  has  been  wrought  out.  There 
are  some  instances  in  which  we  can  trace  the  direct 
influence  of  intercession.    We  read  in  the  Scripture 

31 


A  Mighty  Means  of  Usefulness 

that  Peter  was  delivered  from  prison  because  men 
and  women,  meeting  together,  prayed  for  his  de- 
liverance. When  then  we  see  Peter,  a  free  man, 
knocking  at  the  door  of  John  Mark's  home  we  un- 
derstand that  the  means  whereby  he  has  become 
free  is  prayer. 

In  profane  history,  too,  there  is  an  occasional 
narrative  that  indicates  the  unseen  force  of  prayer. 
The  Marquis  of  Argyle  was  one  of  Scotland's  noble 
witnesses  for  Christ's  cross  and  crown.  On  the 
morning  of  the  day  on  which  he  was  to  be  exe- 
cuted he  was  engaged  in  settling  worldly  affairs. 
Several  of  the  leading  people  of  Scotland  were  in 
the  prison  room  with  him.  Suddenly  in  the  midst 
of  his  business  his  soul  was  visited  with  such  a  sense 
of  the  divine  favor  as  almost  overwhelmed  him.  He 
attempted  to  conceal  his  emotions.  He  arose  and 
went  to  the  fireplace  tp  stir  the  fire.  But  soon  he 
turned  around  and  with  great  fervor  said,  "I  see 
that  this  will  not  do.  I  must  now  declare  what 
the  Lord  has  done  for  my  soul.  Pie  has  just  now, 
at  this  very  instant  of  time,  sealed  my  charter  in 
these  words,  'Son,  be  of  good  cheer;  thy  sins  be 
forgiven  thee.'  "  A  little  later  he  went  to  the  scaf- 
fold. In  the  hour  when  he  was  put  to  death  he 
had  the  most  perfect  assurance  and  a  most  triumph- 
ant calm. 

32 


The  Talent  of  Intercession 

The  scene  in  the  prison  room  as  thus  described 
was  all  that  the  human  observers  could  see.  But 
was  there  nothing  unseen  that  was  of  significance 
that  day?  Yes,  there  was.  For  in  a  retired  part 
of  Edinburgh  the  wife  of  the  Marquis  and  the 
Rev.  John  Carstairs  during  that  morning  were 
praying  for  the  Marquis.  They  knew  that  the  Mar- 
quis would  be  put  to  death.  They  wished  him  to 
die,  if  he  must,  so  calmly  that  his  death  would  show 
the  power  of  Christian  faith  and  would  contribute 
to  Christ's  glory  in  Scotland.  They  made  one  spe- 
cial plea  for  the  Marquis,  that  the  Lord  would  seal 
his  charter  by  saying  to  him,  "Son,  be  of  good 
cheer;  thy  sins  be  forgiven  thee."  It  was  that  very 
assurance  that  came  into  the  heart  of  the  Marquis 
as  he  turned  to  the  fireplace  in  the  prison,  and  it 
was  that  assurance,  secured  to  him  by  others 
through  prayer,  that  sustained  him  in  his  brave 
death. 

Nor  do  these  instances  stand  alone.  So  soon  as 
the  facts  are  known,  it  becomes  evident  that  the 
means  whereby  some  of  the  most  blessed  events  of 
life  have  been  secured  was  prayer.  The  history  of 
Yale  University  tells  of  a  great  revival  which  one 
hundred  years  ago  stirred  the  whole  college  com- 
munity.   The  secret  of  the  revival  was,  that  a  group 

33 


A  Mighty  Means  of  Usefulness 

of  men  were  so  earnest  in  their  desire  to  have  a  spir- 
itual awakening  that  "they  got  up  before  daybreak, 
day  after  day  in  the  long  winter  months,  and  gave 
themselves  to  earnest  prayer  for  that  definite  thing. 
A  revival  began  and  spread  from  class  to  class  until 
almost  every  man  in  the  college  was  led  into  faith 
in  Christ."  Mary,  Queen  of  Scotland,  realized 
that  in  John  Knox  the  talent  for  prayer  had  been 
so  cultivated  that  it  had  become  a  mighty  force. 
She  once  declared,  "I  fear  John  Knox's  prayers 
more  than  an  army  of  ten  thousand  men." 

It  is  impossible  to  estimate  the  power  for  useful- 
ness latent  in  hearts  capable  of  prayer.  No  one 
conceived  the  power  lying  latent  in  steam  until  the 
spirit  of  steam,  asserting  itself,  began  to  transform 
the  earth.  No  one  conceived  the  power  lying  latent 
in  electricity  until  electricity,  asserting  itself,  began 
its  world-wide  ministry.  The  power  lying  latent 
in  hearts  capable  of  prayer  is  similarly  great. 
Luther  prayed  for  the  Diet  of  Nuremberg.  He  in- 
terceded with  intense  earnestness.  He  laid  hold 
of  the  throne  of  grace  with  such  power  that  he 
seemed  to  prevail  with  God.  He  felt  sure,  even 
before  the  Diet  took  action,  that  those  who  com- 
posed it  would  stand  firm  in  Reformation  princi- 
ples.   And  they  did.    The  people  of  Enfield,  Massa- 

34 


The  Talent  of  Intercession 

chusetts,  prayed  all  night  that  the  sermon  to  be 
preached  by  their  pastor  Jonathan  Edwards  might 
be  blessed  to  the  good  of  souls.  When  the  sermon 
was  preached  the  congregation  left  their  pews, 
crowding  up  the  pulpit  stairs  and  asking  what  they 
might  do  to  obtain  the  salvation  of  God. 

DeQuincey  divides  all  literature  into  the  literature 
of  knowledge  and  the  literature  of  power.  As  there 
is  a  literature  of  power  so  there  is  a  prayer  of  power. 
It  is  the  prayer  of  power  of  which  we  stand  in  need. 
A  powerless  Christian  ought  to  be  considered  as 
great  a  misnomer  as  a  powerless  thunderbolt.  If 
the  talent  of  prayer  should  be  cultivated  as  assidu- 
ously as  the  talent  of  business  is  cultivated,  the  re- 
sult would  be  that  numberless  people  who  never 
can  be  forceful  in  speech,  nor  bounteous  in  benefi- 
cence, nor  energetic  in  evangelism,  would  become 
as  effective  forces  for  the  world's  help  as  any  men 
and  women  who  have  ever  lived. 

Mrs.  Elizabeth  Prentiss  in  one  of  her  letters  used 
the  significant  expression,  "learning  the  mysterious 
art  of  prayer  by  an  apprenticeship  at  the  throne  of 
grace."  How  many  of  us  have  ever  thought  of 
"learning"  to  pray?  Or,  of  "an  apprenticeship  at 
the  throne  of  grace?"  In  another  sentence  Mrs. 
Prentiss  enlarges  on  this  idea.     She  says:  "I  think 

35 


A  Mighty  Means  of  Usefulness 

many  of  the  difficulties  attending  upon  the  subject 
of  prayer  would  disappear  if  it  could  be  regarded 
in  early  life  as  an  art  that  must  be  acquired  through 
daily,  persistent  habits  with  which  nothing  shall 
be  allowed  to  interfere."  Thus  she  makes  "learn- 
ing" to  pray  as  much  of  a  training  as  learning  to 
sing,  or  paint,  or  write.  She  exalts  prayer  into  an 
"art" — and  makes  us  realize  that  the  same  applica- 
tion, concentration,  persistency  and  heartiness  need- 
ed to  become  a  sculptor,  are  needed  by  us  if  the  tal- 
ent of  prayer  (possible  to  every  one)  reaches  its 
greatest  development.  Happy  the  man  who,  like 
Epaphras  commended  of  Paul,  learns  so  well  the 
lesson  of  prayer  that  his  distinguishing  characteris- 
tic is  that  he  "always  labors  fervently  in  prayer  for 
others." 

What  blessings  are  awaiting  the  world  if  we 
only  develop  the  talent  of  prayer  to  its  fullest  pos- 
sibility !  Has  not  the  time  come  when  we,  one  and 
all,  will  do  our  part  to  re-assert  the  power  of  the 
Christian  church?  Andrew  Bonar  with  great  sor- 
row wrote  in  his  diary:  "I  work  more  than  I  pray." 
Also  he  wrote:  "I  must  at  once  return,  through  the 
Lord's  strength,  to  not  less  than  three  hours  a  day 
spent  in  prayer  and  meditation  upon  the  Word." 

There  is  no  doubt  that  God  longs  to  have  His 
36 


The  Talent  of  Intercession 

servants  so  love  their  fellows  that  they  shall  rest 
not  day  nor  night  in  interceding  in  their  behalf.  He 
waits  for  the  effectual  fervent  prayer.  Oh,  that 
thousands  upon  thousands  of  God's  people  would 
awake  to  their  possibility,  and  would  become  pow- 
erful in  His  Kingdom  through  learning  to  prevail 
with  God  in  prayer ! 


37 


ffor  TIClbom  Cbrist  Bsfes  IFntercesstoru 

The  general  classes  of  people  for  whom  Paul 
asked  our  intercession  have  been  considered.  A 
very  important  inquiry  now  presents  itself :  Are 
there  special  persons  indicated  by  Christ's  com- 
mands or  practices  who  stand  out  with  preeminence 
as  persons  for  whom  we  should  pray  ? 

When  we  study  Christ's  own  practices  we  find 
five  classes  of  people  for  whom  He  prayed  or  for 
whom  He  taught  us  to  pray.  One  was  the  sick. 
He  Himself  healed  the  sick,  using  miracles. 

These  miracles  were  Christ's  advertisements. 
They  called  attention  to  His  wondrous  power,  His 
wondrous  words,  and  His  wondrous  personality. 
He  might  have  used  heralds  to  sound  a  trumpet 
and  get  the  ears  of  the  crowd  whom  He  then  would 
address.  But  He  preferred  to  present  Himself  di- 
rectly to  men  in  the  deeds  of  healing.  Such  healing 
was  a  blessing  in  itself.  Such  healing  evidenced 
the  kindliness  of  His  heart  and  made  clear  His  pur- 
pose to  relieve  distress.     Such  healing  also,  from 

38 


For  Whom  Christ  Asks  Intercession 

its  marvelous  power,  marked  Him  as  the  unique 
One  who  could  not  be  confused  with  any  other. 

Only  once,  if  then,  did  Christ  pray  over  the  sick. 
One  was  brought  to  Him  who  was  deaf  and  had  an 
impediment  in  his  speech.  Christ  took  him  aside, 
looked  up  to  heaven,  sighed,  and  healed  him. 
"Looked  up  to  heaven."  That  is  the  only  phrase  in 
Christ's  life  containing  even  a  hint  that  He  prayed 
over  the  diseased.  He  seems  never  to  have  asked 
Heaven's  aid  to  heal  anyone.  He  always  claimed 
that  He  had  power  in  himself  to  heal.  That  one 
upward  look  we  think  was  intended  to  assist  the 
observer.  It  helped  the  observer  to  associate  the 
deed  of  healing  with  God  above,  and  so  it  helped 
him  to  believe  that  the  power  whereby  Christ 
wrought  the  miracle,  was  divine. 

But  while  Christ  did  not  pray  for  the  sick,  He 
intimated  that  we  should  pray  for  them.  A  lunatic 
boy  was  brought  by  the  boy's  father  to  Christ.  The 
disciples  had  not  been  able  to  heal  him.  Christ 
healed  the  boy.  The  disciples  inquired  why  they 
had  failed  to  heal  him.  Christ  answered  that  their 
failure  was  due  to  their  lack  of  faith.  But  He  im- 
mediately added  that  a  disease  of  this  kind  would 
not  leave  a  man  except  "by  prayer." 

This  reference  to  prayer  seems  to  be  a  direct  in- 
39 


A  Mighty  Means  of  Usefulness 

timation  that  Christ  expects  us  to  pray  for  the  sick. 
It  warrants  us  in  bringing  all  our  weak  and  suffer- 
nig  ones  to  Him  that  they  may  be  made  whole. 
Christ  Himself  never  refused  the  prayer  addressed 
to  Him  by  loving  hearts  for  the  healing  of  disease. 
"He  healed  them  all."  Likewise  He  bade  all  who 
were  weary  and  heavy  laden  come  to  Him,  assur- 
ing them  that  He  would  give  them  rest. 

A  second  class  for  whom  Christ  taught  us  to 
pray  were  children.  He  did  this  by  direct  example. 
As  Matthew  states  it,  "Mothers  brought  young 
children  to  Christ  that  He  should  put  His  hands 
on  them  and  pray." 

The  significance  of  this  scene  is  often  lost.  Many 
think  of  it  as  though  Christ  merely  placed  His 
hands  on  their  heads  and  said  some  kindly  words 
over  the  children.  No.  He  "prayed"  for  them. 
A  blessing  spoken  by  a  godly  man  over  a  child  is 
indeed  in  its  very  nature  a  prayer.  Accordingly 
it  is  true  that  were  John  the  Beloved  here  today, 
and  were  he,  placing  his  hands  on  the  forehead  of  a 
little  child  presented  to  him,  to  say,  "May  God  ever 
take  care  of  you,  and  keep  you,  little  child" — that 
blessing  would  be  a  prayer. 

But  when  Christ  "prayed"  over  little  children 
there  must  have  been,  it  would  seem,  distinct  in- 

40 


For  Whom  Christ  Asks  Intercession 

tercession  for  them.  We  wonder  what  petitions 
He  offered !  We  wonder  whether  the  hearts  of  the 
mothers  were  satisfied  when  they  heard  the  special 
wishes  He  expressed  for  the  children.  The  whole 
setting  of  the  scene  makes  us  feel  that  He  did  not 
ask  for  money,  place,  power  or  health.  Rather  He 
asked  that  they  might  be  heavenly  minded,  so  that 
they  should  do  Heaven's  work  upon  earth,  and  then 
do  Heaven's  work  in  glory. 

There  never  can  be  too  great  and  too  earnest 
prayer  for  little  children.  "He  who  helps  a  child 
helps  humanity  with  a  distinctiveness,  with  an  im- 
mediateness,  which  no  other  help  given  to  human 
creatures  in  any  other  stage  of  their  human  life 
can  possibly  give  again."  Children  have  in  them- 
selves the  making  or  unmaking  of  the  world.  Even 
while  they  are  little  children  the  characteristics  of 
their  lives  are  largely  decided.  Almost  before  par- 
ents and  friends  realize  the  fact,  they  are  eight,  ten 
and  twelve  years  old.  In  most  cases,  by  this  time, 
character  has  taken  its  general  bent.  We  must 
labor  and  pray  very  early  if  we  are  to  reach  chil- 
dren. It  was  so  in  Palestine  when  Christ  was  there. 
The  boy  of  twelve  became  a  citizen  of  Israel  and  en- 
tered the  church.  The  girl  at  twelve  was  well  on 
her  way  toward  marriage.  The  statistics  of  the  cities 

4i 


A  Mighty  Means  of  Usefulness 

where  great  masses  of  children  center,  tell  us  that 
street  boys  are  started  upon  their  careers  even  be- 
fore they  are  twelve.  Captains  of  police,  matrons 
of  reform  schools,  and  city  missionaries  report  that 
character,  good  or  bad,  is  stamped  upon  children 
even  before  the  children  reach  their  teens. 

All  students  of  the  religious  experience  make 
similar  report.  The  fathers  and  mothers  who  have 
children  to  be  nurtured,  the  Sunday  school  teachers 
who  have  scholars  to  be  guided,  the  instructors  who 
through  five  days,  and  the  nurses  who  through  seven 
days  are  charged  with  the  care  of  young  lives,  have 
a  very  grave  responsibility.  As  goes  the  child,  so 
goes  the  world.  If  Satan  can  hurt  children,  he 
hurts  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  and  all  that  that 
kingdom  stands  for.  Instead  of  our  being  careless 
concerning  children,  we  should  be  solicitous  and 
even  prayerful  for  them.  Our  prayer  should  be  in 
the  very  spirit  and  to  the  very  ends  that  character- 
ized Christ's  prayer  for  them — that  they  may  belong 
to,  and  do  the  service  of,  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

The  third  class  for  whom  Christ  taught  us  to 
pray  were  disciples.  This  prayer  also  He  taught 
us  by  direct  example. 

Sometimes  He  prayed  for  a  particular  disciple, 
as,  for  Peter :  sometimes  for  the  Twelve,  the  special 

42 


For  Whom  Christ  Asks  Intercession 

ones  who  in  His  day  were  charged  with  heralding 
His  truth:  and  sometimes  for  the  whole  body  of 
believers,  present  and  future  alike.  He  carried 
Christian  people  on  His  heart.  He  felt  that  the 
greatest  responsibility  that  ever  devolved  upon  men 
was  devolved  upon  them.  As  the  Father  had  sent 
Him  into  the  world,  even  so  did  He  send  them  into 
the  world.  They  were  to  be  His  representatives. 
They  were  to  bring  forth  much  fruit  to  His  glory. 
So  great  was  their  mission  that  before  He  chose  the 
twelve  He  sought  God's  blessing  in  prayer.  Later, 
as  He  was  to  ascend  from  Olivet,  and  leave  His  fol- 
lowers, He  prayed  for  those  followers. 

Christian  people  need  prayer.  They  are  in  the 
world  to  continue  today  the  very  work  which  Christ 
when  here  began.  They  are  to  seek  the  needy,  re- 
lieve the  oppressed,  deliver  the  imprisoned.  They 
are  to  comfort  the  sorrowful  and  to  rescue  the 
sinner.  Every  soul  of  all  humanity  is  to  be  cheered 
and  brightened  by  them.  Service  is  their  distinc- 
tive calling.  It  is  for  this  they  are  chosen  as  Christ's 
disciples.  Prayer  then  should  be  offered  that  every 
communicant,  every  officer,  every  worker  in  the 
Christian  Church  should  answer  to  this  call  to 
service.  "I  am  glorified  in  them,"  Christ  said,  and 
according  to  the  faithfulness  with  which  His  dis- 
ciples do  His  work  is  Christ  glorified  among  men. 

43 


A  Mighty  Means  of  Usefulness 

The  three  classes  of  persons  that  have  been  men- 
tioned as  those  for  whom  Christ  taught  us  to  pray, 
are  distinct  classes  by  themselves.  We  pray  for 
them  because  we  infer  from  His  words  or  example 
that  we  should  do  so.  Now  comes  the  fourth  class 
for  whom  we  are  to  pray.  This  fourth  class  is  one 
for  whom  we  are  positively  commanded  to  pray. 

"Pray  for  them  that  despite  fully  use  you  and 
persecute  you,  Christ  said.  What  He  charged 
us  to  do  He  Himself  did.  On  Calvary,  when  men 
maligned  and  tortured  Him,  He  prayed,  "Father, 
forgive  them,  for  they  know  not  what  they  do!" 
The  people  for  whom  He  thus  prayed  were  the  in- 
flamed and  passionate  multitudes  that  surrounded 
the  cross.  Prominent  among  them  were  the  priests. 
The  Scripture  reads  that  these  priests  stirred  up 
the  people  to  shout  "Crucify!"  and  that  the  priests 
persuaded  the  people  to  choose  Barabbas  rather  than 
Christ. 

The  Ober-Ammergau  peasants,  when  they  place 
the  scene  of  the  crucifixion  on  the  stage,  show  the 
priests  moving  actively  among  the  crowd.  The 
priests  whisper  suspicions  and  breathe  out  hatred, 
until  the  popular  mind  is  alarmed  and  even  embit- 
tered. The  peasants  make,  as  does  the  Scripture, 
the  priests  the  aggressive  party  in  the  crucifixion. 

44 


For  Whom  Christ  Asks  Intercession 

When  Christ  prayed,  "Forgive  them,"  he  prayed 
for  these  very  priests  who  despitefully  used  Him 
and  persecuted  Him.  A  few  days  later  Pentecost 
came.  Thousands  of  hearts  turned  to  God  in  peni- 
tence. "And  a  great  company  of  priests  believed." 
The  prayer  indeed  was  answered ! 

It  is  not  easy  to  pray  for  those  that  abuse  us. 
We  must  have  control  of  self  and  love  to  others 
to  offer  such  prayer.  The  absence  of  bitterness  is 
not  enough.  There  must  be  the  presence  of  sym- 
pathy. Christ  was  wonderfully  wise  when  He  com- 
manded this  prayer.  Divided  counsels  are  a  hin- 
drance in  any  good  cause.  So  long  as  jealousies  ex- 
isted between  the  army  officers  of  our  civil  war, 
that  war  was  a  failure.  So  long  as  officers  asserted 
their  own  dignity  to  the  detriment  of  their  fellow 
officers,  there  could  not  be  success.  Animosities 
had  to  be  surrendered.  Loyalty  to  a  single  com- 
mander had  to  be  cherished.  Then  the  war  has- 
tened to  its  close. 

We  are  to  pray  for  the  divided  camps  of  Chris- 
tendom. We  are  to  pray  that  dissensions  among 
God's  people  shall  cease.  Like  Moses  of  old,  we 
are  to  rejoice  when  others  than  ourselves  have  in- 
spiration from  the  Almighty,  and  say,  "Let  Eldad 
and  Medad  be  among  the  prophets.  Would  God 
that  all  the  people  might  prophesy !" 

45 


A  Mighty  Means  of  Usefulness 

The  hurt  to  a  man's  own  heart  in  cherishing 
hatred  is  fearful.  Had  Christ's  spirit  on  the  cross 
been  bitter,  the  cross  would  have  been  the  place  of 
His  shame,  not  His  glory.  He  could  not  have  died 
in  peace  unless  His  heart  was  sweet.  Hate  is  folly. 
It  discolors  vision  and  biases  judgment.  It  makes 
the  man  of  war  nurse  his  wrongs  and  sulk  in  his 
tent  when  he  should  be  on  the  battle  line.  Nothing 
has  hindered  the  advance  of  Christ's  army  more 
than  the  unkind  feelings  cherished  by  Christians 
towards  those  with  whom  they  disagree.  Such  feel- 
ings are  to  be  overpowered  with  love.  Every  de- 
nomination must  sacrifice  its  cherished  distinctions 
rather  than  let  those  distinctions  be  a  hindrance  to 
Christ's  cause.  Whatever  embitters  us  against  other 
Christians  must  be  surrendered.  Words  like  "Cal- 
vinism" and  "Arminianism,"  intended  to  be  sources 
of  love,  must  never  be  sources  of  hate.  Special  doc- 
trines must  not  become  idols  to  us  and  so  stand  be- 
tween God  and  the  world's  good.  Christian  men 
cannot  afford  to  quarrel.  Quarreling  incapacitates 
for  usefulness.  Quarreling  hardens  the  heart  to 
the  reception  of  truth.  In  praying  for  those  who 
despitefully  use  us  we  do  not  pray  that  God  will 
humble  them  to  our  special  views  or  our  special 
methods.     Rather  we  pray  that  God  will  lead  them 

46 


For  Whom  Christ  Asks  Intercession 

as  shall  seem  wisest  and  best  to  Him,  and  will  use 
them  to  His  own  infinite  glory. 

The  last  persons  for  whom  Christ  charged  us 
to  pray  were  laborers  for  His  harvest  Held. 

Here  is  a  prayer  that  stands  out  by  itself.  It 
introduces  us  into  a  new  realm  of  thought.  Again 
and  again  this  prayer  is  forgotten.  Christ  saw  the 
multitudes.  They  came  from  cities  and  villages. 
They  were  pitifully  ignorant.  They  were  pitifully 
weak.  They  were  like  sheep  that  do  not  know  where 
pasturage  and  safety  are — like  shepherdless  sheep 
that  are  exposed  to  every  danger.  These  multitudes 
made  direct  appeal  to  His  heart.  His  heart  an- 
swered to  that  appeal.  What  heart  is  there,  if  it 
have  the  least  degree  of  tenderness,  that  does  not 
pity  the  misled,  the  mistaken,  and  the  imperiled? 
Seeing  the  multitudes  and  knowing  their  need,  He 
said,  "The  harvest  truly  is  plenteous,  but  the  labor- 
ers are  few." 

What  Christ  then  said  many  another  has  since 
repeated.  "So  many  needy  lives  in  the  world  and 
so  few  people  to  help  them!"  The  deeper  we  see 
into  the  hearts  of  men,  the  more  we  realize  their 
sorrows  and  their  sins.  There  is  not  a  village  so 
small  but  that  in  it  there  are  souls  to  be  visited, 
comforted,   and  uplifted.     Not  a  town   so  orderly 

47 


A  Mighty  Means  of  Usefulness 

but  that  in  it  there  are  vices  to  be  fought.  Not  a 
city  so  evangelized  but  that  in  it  multitudes  are  on 
the  way  to  destruction.  Who  shall  purify  the  homes 
of  squalor,  who  take  the  children  from  the  streets 
and  save  them,  who  protect  the  boys  and  girls  of 
sixteen  and  direct  their  youthful  energy  into  holy 
pleasures?  The  market  places  need  righteousness, 
the  court  rooms  need  justice,  the  schools  need  con- 
secration, the  churches  need  thousands  upon  thou- 
sands of  workers.  "Come  over  and  help  us,"  is 
the  cry  that  is  ringing  out  from  multitudes  that  no 
man  can  number.  Politics  needs  integrity,  govern- 
ment needs  faithfulness,  the  army  and  the  navy  need 
spirituality.  Missionaries  everywhere  are  calling 
for  men  and  women  to  enter  unoccupied  fields. 

It  is  startling  to  consider  that  the  one  great 
prayer  laid  upon  Christ's  people  as  a  people  is  this 
prayer  for  laborers.  In  general  terms  we  say  each 
day,  "Thy  kingdom  come !"  In  specific  terms  we 
are  to  say,  "Send  forth  laborers  into  thy  harvest." 
Praying  for  our  enemies  is  usually  a  help  to  our 
personal  sanctification.  But  praying  for  laborers  is 
a  help  to  the  whole  world's  salvation. 

"Today,  as  always,  the  great  lack  of  the  King- 
dom is  laborers."  Every  Christian  enterprise  la- 
ments because  so  few  will  help  in  its  work.     Every 

48 


For  Whom  Christ  Asks  Intercession 

church  is  asking  for  Sunday  school  teachers,  who, 
like  William  E.  Dodge,  will  lead  souls  to  Christ. 
Merchant  in  New  York  City  as  he  was,  this  man 
so  knew  and  so  taught  the  Bible  that  more  than 
one  hundred  persons  declared  that  he  had  brought 
them  to  the  Christian  life. 

If  men  and  women  in  one  city  like  Chicago  would 
enter  dwellings,  sitting  down  as  a  friend,  cherish- 
ing interest  in  every  individual  child  and  beautify- 
ing the  home,  ten  thousand  of  them  could  find 
opportunity  for  usefulness.  A  home  thus  made  rest- 
ful and  attractive  might  prove  a  saving  blessing  to 
the  father  and  the  elder  sons  as  they  return  at  night. 

The  word  "laborers,"  as  Christ  used  it,  is  not  to 
be  limited  to  any  particular  set  or  sets  of  people. 
Laborers  may  be  those  who  speak  or  those  who 
write :  may  be  those  who  give  counsel,  or  money,  or 
influence,  or  time.  All  who  are  engaged  in  efforts 
for  the  welfare  of  humanity  are  "laborers."  It  is 
true  that  Columbus,  not  Isabella,  discovered  Amer- 
ica. But  it  is  also  true  that  unless  Isabella  had 
put  her  jewels  at  the  use  of  Columbus,  Columbus 
would  not  have  discovered  America.  The  direct 
and  indirect  laborers  in  God's  harvest  field  are  now 
very  many.  We  name  all  men  laborers  whose  pur- 
pose it  is  to  elevate  statesmanship,  or  purify  litera- 

49 


A  Mighty  Means  of  Usefulness 

ture,  or  sanctify  commerce.  Wherever  there  are 
those  who  fight  against  sin  and  strive  to  rescue  the 
perishing,  there  are  God's  laborers.  In  homes,  fac- 
tories, railways,  farms,  there  are  great  multitudes 
of  such. 

But  granted  that  there  are  these  multitudes  thus 
engaged  in  their  diversified  efforts  for  human  good, 
still  the  one  prayer  Christ  commanded  us  to  offer 
for  "laborers"  needs  always  to  be  upon  our  lips. 

So  many  men  brought  up  in  Christian  surround- 
ings, are  not  "laborers  !"  They  go  to  Alaska.  Their 
single  purpose  is  to  get  gold.  Their  interests  are 
wholly  selfish.  As  a  result  of  their  selfishness  their 
influence  upon  the  natives  is  destructive.  Were  they 
"laborers"  how  different  their  influence  would  be! 

So  with  many  of  the  troops  that  go  to  the  Phil- 
ippines. They  drink,  they  carouse,  they  carry  evil 
with  them.  So  with  many  of  the  merchants  that 
enter  the  treaty  ports  of  China.  They  relax  their 
principles.  They  live  impurely.  How  they  disgrace 
Christianity !  How  they  hinder  the  missionary ! 
Suppose,  merchants  as  they  are,  they  were  in  China 
as  "laborers !"  What  a  blessing,  instead  of  a  curse, 
they  would  be! 

The  great  purpose  of  every  Christian  home  is  to 
raise  up  "laborers."    The  one  specific  prayer  Christ 

5o 


For  Whom  Christ  Asks  Intercession 

taught  fathers  and  mothers  to  offer  concerning  their 
children  is  that  they  may  be  "laborers."  It  is  to  this 
end  that  parents  are  to  feed  them,  protect  them, 
educate  them.  Children  fail  of  their  glory  unless 
they  become  "laborers."  Parents  fail  of  their  re- 
sponsibility unless  they  beseech  God  to  equip  their 
children  for  His  service. 

The  words  "send  forth"  are  in  the  Greek  one 
word.  That  word,  used  by  Christ,  is  a  very  strong 
word.  It  means  "drive  out" — "thrust  out."  It  is 
the  very  word  applied  to  Christ  when  He,  finding 
the  Temple  occupied  by  money  changers  and  those 
who  sold  doves,  "cast  out"  those  intruders.  It  is 
also  the  word  used  when  Christ  "cast  out"  devils. 
Parents,  pastors,  and  teachers  are  to  pray  that  God 
will  "thrust  out"  those  dear  to  them  into  the  harvest 
field.  They  are  to  pray  that  God  will  send  such  an 
irresistible  conviction  into  their  hearts  as  will  com- 
pel them  to  do  the  labor  of  the  harvest.  "May  my 
child  have  no  rest  until  he  is  Thy  laborer."  So  may 
we,  so  should  we  pray. 

Yes,  unless  a  family,  a  church,  an  institution  ex- 
ists to  raise  up  laborers,  it  fails  of  its  mission.  All 
teaching,  all  friendship,  all  art,  all  literature  answer 
to  their  supreme  end  when  they  help  create  Chris- 
tian "laborers." 

5i 


A  Mighty  Means  of  Usefulness 

We  are  to  pray  that  thousands  upon  thousands  of 
laborers  may  be  thrust  forth.  They  are  needed  in 
America  and  in  Africa.  They  are  needed  in  every 
school,  business,  and  church  in  the  world.  May  we 
never,  never  forget  that  there  is  but  one  specific 
prayer  which  we  are  charged  by  Christ  to  offer  con- 
cerning His  kingdom.  That  prayer  is,  that  God 
"would  thrust  forth  laborers  into  His  harvest." 


52 


TLhc  Comforter  Sougbt  ffor  Service. 

The  prayer  for  the  Holy  Spirit  as  the  Comforter ! 
Do  people  understand  the  real  significance  of  this 
special  prayer?  Have  they  a  distinct  idea  of  what 
is  involved  in  it  when  they  offer  it  for  themselves 
and  of  what  is  involved  in  it  when  it  becomes  an  in- 
tercession for  others? 

The  prayer  for  the  Holy  Spirit  as  the  Holy  Spirit 
we  are  taught  to  offer  with  frequency  and  freedom. 
We  cannot  be  too  urgent  in  seeking  for  all  the  gifts 
of  the  Spirit;  love,  joy,  peace,  long-suffering,  kind- 
ness, goodness,  faithfulness,  meekness  and  self-con- 
trol. 

It  rejoices  us  to  know  that  God  is  more  willing 
to  give  the  Holy  Spirit  in  these  gifts  than  earthly 
parents  are  to  give  good  gifts  unto  their  children. 
"Come,  Holy  Spirit!"  has  long  been  the  cry  of  the 
church,  and  it  always  will  be  the  cry  of  the  church. 

But  the  prayer  for  the  Holy  Spirit  as  the  Com- 
forter seems  to  be  a  very  special  prayer.  Its  signifi- 
cance was  indicated  when  Christ's  prayer  for  the 

53 


A  Mighty  Means  of  Usefulness 

Holy  Spirit  as  the  Comforter  received  its  answer 
at  Pentecost.  Many  public  assemblages  of  Chris- 
tian workers  voice  that  answer.  The  more  intent 
those  who  compose  such  assemblages  are  upon  per- 
suading others  to  obey  the  will  of  God,  the  oftener 
the  prayer  is  offered  for  the  Holy  Spirit  the  Com- 
forter and  the  deeper  the  earnestness  that  is  ex- 
pressed in  it.  Where  formality  of  religious  life 
prevails  and  where  sense  of  responsibility  for  the 
spiritual  welfare  of  others  is  weak,  the  prayer  is 
offered  less  and  less  frequently  and  less  and  less 
fervently.  Self-centered  people  and  self-satisfied 
churches  give  it  small  place  in  their  petitions. 

Years  ago  a  band  of  men  and  women  in  the  Lo- 
diana  Mission,  India,  looking  out  upon  the  religious 
needs  of  their  own  country  and  of  Europe,  America 
and  the  world  at  large,  saw  how  great  these  needs 
are.  Their  hearts  became  deeply  stirred.  The  de- 
sire took  possession  of  them  that  mankind  every- 
where should  speedily  know  the  fulness  of  the  bless- 
ing of  the  Gospel.  Inspired  by  this  desire  they  is- 
sued a  call  for  a  world-wide  observance  of  a  Week 
of  Prayer.  The  one  supreme  purpose  of  that  Week 
should  be,  to  pray  that  the  Holy  Spirit  would  use 
the  church  to  the  salvation  of  the  world. 

The  prayer  for  the  Holy  Spirit  as  the  Comforter 
54 


The  Comforter  Sought  for  Service 

is  a  prayer  Christ  offered  for  others.  He  speaks 
of  this  prayer,  offered  by  Him,  as  having  a  twofold 
suggestion.  First,  it  suggested  His  love  for  His 
disciples.  Second,  it  suggested  His  desire  for  a 
particular  kind  of  blessing  on  them.  It  was,  then, 
Christ's  love  for  His  disciples  that  caused  Him  to 
offer  it.  They  were  soon  to  lose  His  comradeship. 
As  a  consequence  they  would  need  spiritual  guid- 
ance, courage  and  strength.  This  was  especially 
true  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  responsibility  of  rep- 
resenting Him  before  the  world  and  advancing  His 
kingdom  would,  with  His  departure,  devolve  upon 
them.  Therefore  He  now  asked,  and  stated  that  He 
would  continue  to  ask,  that  the  Comforter,  that  is 
a  Spiritual  Power  from  Heaven,  should  enter  their 
hearts,  directing,  emboldening  and  supporting  them. 
Thus,  so  far  as  he  could  protect  them  from  loneli- 
ness and  weakness,  He  would  protect  them — by  se- 
curing for  them  special  help.  Accordingly  he  asked 
God  to  give  them  the  Holy  Spirit  the  Comforter,  or 
as  Wycliffe  called  Him,  the  "Helper." 

The  English  word  Comforter  means  primarily  a 
Strengthener,  a  Supporter.  People  of  Christ's  day 
were  accustomed  to  the  Greek  word  used  by  Christ, 
"Paraclete,"  or  Comforter.  It  meant  one  who  went 
into  the  court  room  when  a  person  appeared  before 

55 


A  Mighty  Means  of  Usefulness 

a  tribunal  and  stood  at  his  side,  giving  him  counsel, 
cheering  his  spirit  and  advocating  his  cause.  Such 
a  comforter  was  a  most  valuable  aid.  He  helped 
his  friend  to  keep  a  clear  head  and  answer  wisely. 
He  saved  his  friend  from  perturbation,  as  he  sug- 
gested the  action  to  be  taken  at  any  given  moment. 
The  mission  of  the  comforter  was  to  cheer  and 
strengthen  him  at  whose  side  he  stood. 

When  Christ  interceded  for  the  Comforter,  His 
disciples  were  about  to  appear  before  the  world  as 
before  a  tribunal.  They  were  to  stand  in  a  great 
court  room  and  be  witnesses  for  the  truth  as  it  is  in 
Christ.  The  supreme  responsibility  laid  upon  them 
was  to  plead  the  cause  of  Christ  in  the  presence  of 
their  fellows  and  persuade  others  to  accept  the 
claims  of  Christ.  For  this  great  and  important  re- 
sponsibility they  needed  help.  Therefore  Christ  so 
particularly  and  earnestly  sought  for  them  the  gift 
of  the  Comforter. 

There  was  one  special  designation  in  this  prayer 
that  Christ  linked  with  the  ''Comforter,"  namely, 
"the  Spirit  of  Truth."  This  "Spirit  of  Truth"  was 
indeed  to  be  "another"  Comforter,  even  as  Christ 
Himself  up  to  this  time  had  been  their  first  Com- 
forter. The  Spirit  was  to  do  for  them  in  instruction, 
in  counsel,  in  guidance,  just  what  Christ  hitherto 
had  done. 

56 


The  Comforter  Sought  for  Service 

But  there  was  one  particular  feature  of  the 
Spirit's  work  which  Christ  desired  should  have  pre- 
eminent recognition  and  so  He  named  the  Comforter, 
the  "Spirit  of  Truth."  These  disciples  were  going 
out  into  life  to  bear  witness  to  Himself,  the  Truth. 
What  they  particularly  needed  therefore  was  a 
Helper  who  should  put  into  their  hearts  the  words, 
thoughts  and  purposes  of  Christ,  the  Truth,  and 
should  enable  them  to  manifest  Christ,  the  Truth, 
to  the  world.  So  Christ  prayed  that  they  might  have 
the  Comforter  as  "The  Spirit  of  Truth."  Having 
Him  they  would  have  the  very  spirit  of  Jesus  Christ 
Himself  and  would  be  endowed  for  the  work  Jesus 
Christ  wished  of  them. 

We  say  of  a  man  who  has  listened  to  the  thrill- 
ing stories  of  a  hunter  until  he  is  on  fire  to  go  where 
the  hunter  has  gone  and  to  do  what  the  hunter  has 
done,  that  the  man  has  caught  the  hunter's  spirit. 
A  youth  listening  to  a  missionary  may  become  so 
aflame  to  visit  the  unenlightened  and  even,  if  need 
be,  lay  down  his  life  for  them,  that  we  say  of  the 
youth,  he  has  caught  the  missionary's  spirit.  So  the 
Holy  Spirit  coming  to  men  was  to  impart  such  views 
of  Christ's  character  and  work  that  Christ  and  His 
work  should  be  their  inspiration,  and  they  catching 
Christ's  spirit  should  live  to  exemplify  Christ  and 

57 


A  Mighty  Means  of  Usefulness 

advance  His  work.  All  those  truths  which  Christ 
entered  earth  to  present,  the  Holy  Spirit  was  to  help 
them  to  present.  He  was  to  give  them  power  to 
know  the  right,  to  bless  their  fellows  and  to  honor 
Christ.  The  Spirit  of  Truth  would  encourage  them 
for  Christian  activity  and  would  sustain  them  in 
Christian  suffering.  He  would  create  a  great  body 
of  men,  who  like  knights  would  rally  to  the  defense 
of  right  and  would  battle  for  the  downfall  of  wrong. 
A  special  condition  of  mind  is  requisite  that  the 
Holy  Spirit  may  possess  men  as  Christ  then  prayed 
that  the  Spirit  might  possess  His  disciples.  The 
Holy  Spirit  in  this  mission  of  the  Comforter,  the 
Paraclete,  is  intended  only  for  those  who  are  ready 
to  glorify  Christ  before  the  world.  The  man  that 
is  indifferent  whether  his  influence  tells  as  power- 
fully as  possible  for  helping  Christ's  cause  cannot 
receive  the  Holy  Spirit  as  the  Comforter.  Such  a 
man  is  in  no  sympathy  with  the  particular  work  He 
has  come  to  accomplish.  Such  a  man  is  not  a  tool 
meet  for  the  Spirit's  use.  Ananias  and  Sapphira, 
swayed  by  selfish  purposes,  cannot  be  the  Spirit's  in- 
strument, nor  can  Demas,  loving  this  present  world 
more  than  the  souls  for  whom  Christ  died.  No 
person  can  ever  have  the  Comforter  who  wishes 
Him  as  an  opiate.     Such  a  person  has  no  worthy 

58 


The  Comforter  Sought  for  Service 

conception  of  the  Comforter's  mission,  nor  has  he 
any  true  realization  of  what  the  Comforter  wishes 
done.  People  who  ask  to  receive  Him  for  these 
purposes  alone,  have  no  idea  of  His  particular  func- 
tion in  the  kingdom  of  grace.  Unless  they  wish 
Him  that  they  may  be  better  fitted  for  serving 
Christ  in  the  lives  of  others,  they  are  unprepared 
to  profit  by  his  presence.  Inert  rock  that  has  no 
intention  of  producing  vegetation  is  not  advantaged 
by  sunlight.  It  is  the  meadow  that  awaits  the  sun- 
light in  order  to  bring  forth  grass  and  flowers  that 
alone  is  advantaged  by  the  sunlight. 

There  are  many  people  who  need  to  have  their 
understandings  aroused  to  a  clear  perception  of  the 
mission  of  the  Comforter.  He  comes  to  prepare 
men  and  women  for  Christian  usefulness.  That  is 
His  one  single  purpose.  When  we  pray  that  He 
may  be  given  to  a  boy,  our  only  reason  for  so  pray- 
ing is  that  the  boy  may  be  fitted  to  do  something  for 
Jesus  Christ  among  his  comrades  or  in  his  home. 
This  intercession  cannot  be  offered  for  one  who  is 
to  continue  sluggish  in  works  of  beneficence.  The 
coming  of  the  Comforter  is  a  trumpet  call  to  action 
— and  that  action,  earnest  Christian  usefulness. 

Wonder  is  often  expressed  that  when  the  day  of 
Pentecost  was  come,  the  men  and  women  who  met 

59 


A  Mighty  Means  of  Usefulness 

the  occasion  were  so  brave  and  ready.  The  ex- 
planation of  their  bravery  and  readiness  is  this : 
Christ,  previous  to  His  Ascension,  charged  them  to 
wait  in  Jerusalem  until  the  Holy  Spirit  should  come 
upon  them  as  He  had  prayed  that  the  Comforter 
might  come.  What  did  they  need  the  Holy  Spirit 
for?  Why  should  they  wait  a  single  day  for  Him 
when  time  was  so  precious?  What  would  they  do 
with  this  gift  of  power  through  the  Holy  Spirit 
when  they  should  receive  it?  The  answer  to  these 
questions  is  found  in  the  mission  of  the  Comforter. 
He  was  not  awaited  to  give  them  a  sense  of  for- 
giveness, nor  to  be  a  lullaby  of  peace  in  their  hearts, 
nor  to  teach  them  moral  ideas — but  to  empower  them 
for  a  definite  and  special  service.  A  particular  work 
had  been  entrusted  to  them.  Speaking  generally 
they  were  to  be  Christ's  laborers  in  the  harvest  field 
of  need.  Speaking  specifically  they  were  to  be  His 
witnesses.  They  were  to  advocate  His  cause,  de- 
clare His  truths,  tell  His  love  and  testify  to  His 
saving  power  in  human  life.  This  they  were  to  do 
everywhere,  in  Jerusalem  and  to  the  uttermost  parts 
of  the  earth.  In  view  of  this  specific  service,  this 
witness  bearing,  Christ  prayed  for  the  Comforter  to 
come  to  them.  The  Comforter  was  to  be  to  them 
the  great  dynamic  whereby  they  could  fulfil  their 

60 


The  Comforter  Sought  for  Service 

mission.     He  was  to  empower  them  to  do  what 
devolved  upon  them  as  witnesses. 

They  recognized  that  this  was  the  purpose  of 
Christ's  prayer.  Accordingly  when  the  sound  as 
of  a  rushing  mighty  wind  came  from  heaven,  and 
the  tongues  of  fire  appeared  (exterior  signals  indi- 
cating to  the  disciples  that  the  hour  for  action  had 
arrived)  these  men  and  women  who  had  simply 
been  waiting  to  bear  their  testimony  sprang  forward 
to  give  it.  The  conception  of  the  Christian  life  that 
animated  their  whole  being  was,  bringing  the  world 
to  Christ  through  witness  bearing  for  Him.  This 
conception  the  Holy  Spirit  now  told  them  should  be 
expressed  in  deeds.  He  enabled  them  to  express  it, 
enlightening  their  minds  in  the  knowledge  of  Scrip- 
ture, kindling  their  bravery,  giving  them  utterance 
and  imparting  power  to  win  souls.  The  prayer  for 
the  Holy  Spirit  as  the  Comforter  means  service  for 
Christ  in  saving  men.  Irresponsibility  for  the  wel- 
fare of  others,  disinclination  to  effort,  withdrawal 
from  the  world's  woe  are  as  far  from  this  prayer  as 
east  is  from  west.  When  Christ  prayed  this  prayer, 
He  wished  God  to  take  those  few  men  who  were 
His  disciples  and  so  charge  them  with  the  forces  of 
Heaven  that  they  would  rise  triumphant  above  all 
hesitation  and  would  spring  forward  to  conquer  this 

61 


A  Mighty  Means  of  Usefulness 

world  in  His  name.  Nothing  should  terrify  nor 
deter  them.  They  should  go  anywhere,  speak  to 
any  man,  endure  any  privation,  in  attempting  to 
lead  men  to  believe  in  Christ. 

Sometimes  in  the  campaign  of  an  army  the  bugle 
call  suddenly  sounds.  The  camp  has  been  asleep. 
But  the  hour  has  come  for  fighting  and  the  bugle 
sounds  the  notes  of  "battle."  Immediately  the  men 
are  awake.  Straightway  horses  are  saddled,  ar- 
tillery is  unlimbered  and  ten  minutes  after  the  call 
the  whole  camp  is  transformed.  The  army  that 
ten  minutes  before  appeared  so  impotent  and  in- 
deed was  so  impotent,  through  that  bugle  call  has 
become  powerful.  Let  opportunity  for  action  now 
come,  and  the  army  will  manifest  its  might.  It  will 
answer  to  the  end  for  which  it  has  been  created  and 
it  will  fight  with  energy  and  daring. 

The  prayer  for  the  Comforter  is  the  prayer  that 
God  will  sound  His  bugle  call  in  the  heart  of  the 
Christian  and  will  arouse  him  to  aggressive  action. 
The  Christian  is  no  more  to  sit  at  ease.  No  more 
is  he  to  dream  of  himself,  of  his  home,  and  of  his 
pleasures.  He  is  now  a  soldier  in  the  field,  enlisted 
under  Christ  and  for  Christ,  to  do  a  soldier's  service. 
He  is  to  fight  his  captain's  battles,  resisting  the  evil 
of  life  and  trying  to  draw  men  to  follow  his  leader. 

62 


The  Comforter  Sought  for  Service 

When  that  prayer  was  answered  in  Peter's  heart 
he  could  not  rest  until  he  had  looked  straight  into 
the  eyes  of  the  people  at  Jerusalem  and  told  them 
that  they  needed  a  Saviour.  When  it  was  answered 
in  Pilkington's  heart  he  felt  that  he  must  go  to 
Uganda,  take  up  Mackay's  work  and  carry  forward 
the  interests  for  which  Mackay  had  lived  and  died. 
When  that  prayer  was  answered  in  Mary  Lyon's 
heart  she  founded  the  Mount  Holyoke  training 
school  where  girls  should  catch  the  spirit  of  Christ's 
life  and  be  inspired  to  redeem  the  world.  When  that 
prayer  was  answered  in  F.  B.  Meyer's  heart,  he 
started,  with  an  energy  entirely  new,  to  reach  every 
living  man  with  words  that  glowed  with  the  love  of 
Christ. 

The  prayer  for  the  Holy  Spirit  the  Comforter  is 
one  that  many  a  parent  hesitates  to  offer  for  his 
child:  it  involves  too  much  for  the  child.  The  an- 
swer to  that  prayer  may  thrust  the  child  out  of  his 
present  luxurious  surroundings,  into  efforts,  self- 
denials  and  sacrifices  from  which  the  parent  desires 
to  protect  his  child.  That  prayer  for  a  child  may 
make  a  child  leave  home  and  go  forth,  as  Henry 
Martyn  did,  to  meet  responsibilities  otherwise  avoid- 
able: may  end  forever  his  being  "an  ornament  to 
society,"  and,  because  of  his  zeal  and  persistency, 
may  cause  all  society  to  look  on  him  askance. 

63 


A  Mighty  Means  of  Usefulness 

Nor  does  every  man  dare  to  offer  this  prayer  for 
himself.  Students  who  offer  it  for  themselves  may 
find  God  straightway  showing  them  paths  of  use- 
fulness so  different  from  those  they  cherish,  that 
to  walk  in  them  will  require  a  wholly  new  plan  of 
life.  Young  men  in  theological  seminaries  who  pray 
this  prayer  for  themselves  may  see  fields  of  oppor- 
tunity opening  before  them  such  as  they  never  have 
been  willing  to  consider.  Men  and  women  who  pray 
it  for  themselves  may  see  their  business  and  social 
practices  in  such  a  new  light,  that  they  will  be 
ashamed  to  continue  those  practices  and  will  have 
to  change  their  methods. 

The  prayer  for  the  Comforter  is  a  very  searching 
prayer.  It  is  the  prayer  that  answered  gives  the 
church  power.  Its  answer  causes  the  church  to 
break  loose  from  listlessness  and  all  hindrances,  and 
become  a  giant — mighty  to  the  pulling  down  of  sin's 
strongholds  and  to  the  upbuilding  of  Zion's  palaces. 
We  believe  in  this  prayer.  In  our  heart  of  hearts 
we  thoroughly  believe  in  it.  We  wish  every  youth 
would  offer  it  for  himself  and  every  parent  would 
offer  it  for  his  child.  Then  the  age  of  religious  in- 
difference would  end.  Then  the  age  of  religious 
chivalry  and  knighthood  would  begin.  Pentecosts 
would  be  wherever  the  Christian  church  is.    There 

64 


The  Comforter  Sought  for  Service 

would  be  no  more  servants  of  the  Lord  sleeping  in 
the  laps  of  Delilahs.  There  would  be  multitudes  of 
mighty  men  abroad  in  the  earth,  and  their  testimony 
for  Jesus  would  be  glorious. 

We  do  well  to  intercede  for  the  Comforter  in  the 
hearts  of  Christian  people.  His  coming  giveth  power 
to  the  faint  and  increaseth  strength  to  him  that  hath 
no  might.  Let  the  Comforter  come  to  His  church — 
ready  and  eager  to  rescue  individual  souls — and  that 
church  will  be  fair  as  the  morn,  clear  as  the  sun  and 
terrible  as  an  army  with  banners. 

Even  so  may  the  Holy  Spirit  the  Comforter  come  ! 


65 


Special  petitions  tor  ©ur  Belovefc* 

Once  a  peculiar  discussion  arose  among  some  un- 
dergraduates gathered  in  a  college  room  at  Cam- 
bridge, England.  The  question  had  been  asked, 
"What  kind  of  a  man  would  you  like  to  have  at  your 
bedside  in  case  you  were  dying?"  So  it  was  pro- 
posed that  each  should  write  under  cover  the  name 
of  the  minister  he  would  wish  with  him  in  such  cir- 
cumstances. Papers  were  brought  out,  each  wrote 
a  name,  the  papers  were  folded,  collected  and  read. 
To  the  surprise  of  all  each  one  had  written  the 
same  name  and  that  name  was  the  name  of  one  of 
the  least  mentioned  ministers  of  Cambridge.  The 
minister  was  a  quiet  man  whose  church  was  never 
crowded.  But  quiet  and  lacking  in  brilliancy  as 
he  was,  the  minister  was  known  to  be  a  man  of 
prayer,  who  cared  more  for  God's  blessing  on 
others  than  for  men's  applause  of  himself.  These 
undergraduates  somehow  believed  in  him  and  in  his 
prayer. 

An  earnest  man's  prayer  is  a  force  for  good. 
66 


Special  Petitions  for  Our  Beloved 

Abraham  had  influence  with  God  for  Sodom.  Again 
and  again  Abraham  prayed  that  God  would  spare 
Sodom  from  destruction,  and  every  time  he  so 
prayed  God  yielded  to  his  wish.  No  one  now  knows, 
no  one  ever  will  know — until  eternity  dawns — the 
evils  that  have  been  averted  from  human  lives  by 
the  prayers  of  others. 

Besides  averting  evils  from  others  the  prayers  of 
loving  hearts  have  secured  blessings  to  them.  A 
young  man  at  Dothan  was  so  alarmed  because  of 
the  seemingly  overwhelming  forces  that  threatened 
Israel,  that  his  heart  failed  him.  But  Elisha  prayed 
and  said,  "Lord,  I  pray  thee,  open  his  eyes  that  he 
may  see."  Thereupon  the  young  man  looking  up  to 
the  mountain  that  was  near  by  saw  the  mountain 
rilled  with  horses  and  chariots  of  fire,  ready  to  de- 
fend Israel  against  the  enemy.  Immediately  the 
young  man's  courage  asserted  itself  and  he  became 
fearless. 

True  love  for  others  is  intended  to  inspire  prayer 
for  them.  Such  love  was  in  Paul's  heart  for  the 
Philippian  Church.  Words  of  endearment  were 
often  on  his  pen  when  he  wrote  to  them.  He  called 
them  "My  brethren,  dearly  beloved  and  longed  for, 
my  joy  and  my  crown."  That  love  led  him  to  pray 
for  them.    This  was  his  prayer : 

67 


'A  Mighty  Means  of  Usefulness 

"That  your  love  may  abound  yet  more  and 
more  in  knowledge  and  in  all  judgment, 

"That  ye  may  approve  things  that  are  ex- 
cellent, 

"That  ye  may  be  sincere  and  without  of- 
fense TILL  THE  DAY  OF  CHRIST  I 

"Being  filled  with  the  fruits  of  righteous- 
ness, WHICH  ARE  BY  JESUS  CHRIST, 

"Unto  the  glory  and  praise  of  God." 

This  prayer  has  four  great  petitions.  The  first 
of  them  is,  "that  your  love  may  abound  yet  more 
and  more  in  knowledge  and  in  all  judgment." 

Sometimes  we  ask  ourselves,  what  special  requests 
shall  we  make  for  others?  This  prayer  removes  all 
uncertainty.  Our  requests  certainly  should  be,  that 
others  may  have  increasingly  loving  dispositions 
that  are  at  once  intelligent  and  discriminating. 

Paul  has  a  remarkable  way  of  putting  words  to- 
gether. In  small,  compact  sentences  he  says  much 
and  says  that  much  judiciously.  To  him  a  loving  dis- 
position was  the  supreme  product  of  Christianity. 
In  the  description  he  gives  in  his  first  letter  to  the 
Corinthian  church  of  the  characteristics  and  uses  of 
love,  he  makes  love  the  best  possession  that  can  be 
held  by  the  human  heart.  "Love  never  faileth." 
Eloquent  talking  will  some  day  be  valueless.     In- 

68 


Special  Petitions  for  Our  Beloved 

formation,  though  it  be  encyclopedic,  will  eventually 
be  disappointing.  So  too  will  luxury  and  applause. 
But  a  loving  disposition  will  always  be  valuable  and 
satisfying.  Unselfish  interest  in  others  is  a  last- 
ing joy  and  an  unceasing  benediction.  Fellow  man 
needs  love,  God  rejoices  in  love  and  eternity  per- 
petuates love.  Love  is  the  immortal  part  of  our 
being,  for  it  is  the  only  part  worthy  of  immortality. 

When  anyone  prays  for  another  "that  his  love 
may  abound  yet  more  and  more"  he  prays  a  great 
prayer  for  him.  What  strength  and  joy  and  noble- 
ness would  characterize  men  if  in  every  soul  that 
now  has  some  love,  that  love  should  "abound !"  The 
good  in  many  a  man  is  small  and  inexpressive.  In 
defense  and  explanation  of  him  we  often  are  obliged 
to  say:  "If  the  secret  springs  of  that  man's  life 
could  be  seen,  it  would  be  known  how  many  noble 
traits  he  has !"  But  the  pitifulness  is,  that  a  friend 
has  to  insist  that  the  noble  traits  exist.  The  lost 
piece  of  money  was  in  the  house.  No  one  denied  it 
was  there.  But  a  great  search  was  requisite  to  find 
it,  and  bring  it  to  light ! 

That  your  love  may  "abound."    Once  I  went  into 

a  palatial  home  and  found  at  every  step,  yes,  almost 

at  every  half  step,  some  beautiful  article,  brought 

from  Italy  or  Egypt,  India  or  Japan.    As  these  orna- 

69 


A  Mighty  Means  of  Usefulness 

ments,  whichever  way  I  looked,  filled  my  eye,  I  said, 
"Beautiful  things  abound  in  this  house !"  The  heart 
in  which  love  "abounds"  is  a  blessed  heart.  Gener- 
ous instincts  and  gracious  forgivenesses  are  in  it. 
Tender  sympathies  are  in  it.  It  has  no  place  for 
envies  and  jealousies.  Anger  and  malice,  hatreds 
and  grudges,  every  little  and  every  large  unloving- 
ness  are  crowded  out  of  the  heart.  When  sunlight 
"abounds"  in  a  house,  darkness  must  fly  away. 
When  warmth  "abounds"  in  a  heart,  no  room  is  left 
for  coldness.  Our  world  would  become  unspeak- 
ably sweet  and  helpful,  if  in  all  Christian  hearts  lov- 
ing kindness  abounded  "yet  more  and  more."  The 
most  attractive  lives  would  become  even  more  at- 
tractive. Men  like  Drummond  and  Peabody  would 
take  on  a  new  winsomeness.  Even  the  weakest  and 
least  pleasing  Christians  would  begin  to  glow  with 
beauty.  Harshness  and  bitterness  would  go,  as 
mists  go  before  the  rising  sun — and  these  weakest 
and  least  pleasing  Christians  would  be  strong  and 
bright.  That  which  in  a  man's  own  soul  tastes 
sweetest  to  the  soul  itself  is  love.  That  which  in  a 
man's  own  mind  most  refreshes  the  mind  itself  is 
love.  As  love  abounds  "yet  more  and  more,"  con- 
tent abounds,  joy  abounds,  godliness  abounds. 

Reference  has  already  been  made  to  the  fact  that 
70 


Special  Petitions  for  Our  Beloved 

Paul  used  words  judiciously.  In  this  very  petition 
he  so  uses  them.  Notice  the  full  statement  of  this 
petition :  "that  your  love  may  abound  yet  more 
and  more  in  knowledge  and  in  all  judgment." 

The  words  "knowledge"  and  "judgment"  safe- 
guard the  petition  and  make  it  an  exceedingly  wise 
one.  "Knowledge"  means  acquaintance  with  the 
facts  of  a  given  situation  in  which  love  is  drawn  out : 
"judgment"  means  discernment  of  the  proper  meth- 
ods in  which  love  should  express  itself.  What  Paul 
had  in  mind  was  that  these  Philippians  should  love 
intelligently,  should  use  "sense"  in  their  affection 
and  in  the  expression  of  their  affection.  Love  may 
become  the  sport  of  every  impulse.  Unwise  love 
has  wrought  great  evil  in  the  world.  Sometimes 
such  love  has  been  like  a  frenzy.  Paul  prays  that 
it  may  never  be  a  frenzy.  He  wishes  it  to  be  deep 
and  strong  and  full-volumed,  but  never  like  a  river 
that  breaks  down  its  dam  or  like  a  fire  that  destroys 
its  chimney.  Love  is  not  to  run  away  with  judg- 
ment, but  the  rather  is  to  be  controlled  and  directed 
by  judgment. 

When  the  Crusades  were  proclaimed  in  Europe, 
thousands  of  people,  impelled  by  the  purest  motives, 
rushed  into  the  Crusades.  They  loved  Christ :  they 
were   ready   to   do   and   even   to   die   that   Christ's 

7i 


A  Mighty  Means  of  Usefulness 

sepulchre  might  be  rescued  from  the  Moslem.  The 
enthusiasm  of  the  hour  swept  them  off  their  feet. 
Carried  captive  by  a  love  that  did  not  stop  to  con- 
sider what  was  involved  in  their  action,  they  bade 
farewell  to  their  homes  and  started  for  the  Holy 
Land,  as  unprepared  for  travel  as  an  unarmed 
soldier  is  for  battle.  As  a  consequence  they  fell  by 
the  wayside  or  perished  by  disease. 

There  is  no  contradiction  between  love  and  in- 
telligence. They  are  meant  to  act  in  harmony. 
We  are  convinced  that  intelligent  love  is  possible 
when  we  study  a  heart  like  that  of  Moses.  He  loved 
the  children  of  Israel  so  intensely  that  for  their  wel- 
fare he  would  willingly  sacrifice  his  very  life.  But 
intense  as  his  love  was,  it  was  always  directed  by 
wisdom.  Accordingly  love  sought  out  the  best  bless- 
ings and  the  safest  situations  that  could  be  desired 
for  Israel. 

Paul  himself  is  a  similar  illustration  of  the  union 
of  love  and  intelligence.  He  was  very  magnanimous 
and  tender  hearted.  He  exemplified  the  love  he  so 
emphatically  described.  And  still,  however  devoted 
he  was  to  others,  he  never  said  a  foolish  word  to 
them,  nor  did  he  ever  extend  a  hurtful  sympathy. 

To  pray  that  the  sphere  of  love  may  be  "in  knowl- 
edge and  judgment"  is  to  pray  that  the  kind  heart 

72 


Special  Petitions  for  Our  Beloved 

may  not  make  mistake  in  its  kindness,  hurting  the 
very  ones  whom  it  designs  to  help.  Wise  love  saves 
parents  from  unduly  petting  their  children.  Wise 
love  in  blessing  others  leaves  no  sorrow.  When 
"love  abounds  yet  more  and  more  in  knowledge  and 
all  judgment"  human  hearts  grow  very  sweet  and 
the  world  is  greatly  helped. 

The  second  petition  in  Paul's  prayer  for  the  Phil- 
ippians  is  "that  ye  may  approve  things  that  are  ex- 
cellent." 

One  day  a  son  came  home  in  rags  and  disgrace, 
and  said,  "Father,  I  have  sinned."  Yes,  he  had 
sinned.  He  had  left  his  father's  house  when  his 
father  wished  him  to  stay  at  home,  and  he  had  done 
many  shameful  deeds.  His  life  had  brought  dis- 
honor to  himself  and  grief  to  his  father.  When, 
returning,  he  said,  "I  have  sinned,"  he  told  the 
truth. 

But  there  never  would  have  been  occasion  for  any 
such  confession  as  this,  if  he  had  always  "approved 
things  that  are  excellent."  His  mistake  and  his  sor- 
row were  all  due  to  the  fact  that  he  had  approved 
things  that  were  not  excellent. 

The  word  "approve"  has  an  alternative  reading 
in  the  margin,  where  the  word  "try"  appears  as  its 
possible  substitute.     "Try"  suggests  familiar  expe- 

73 


A  Mighty  Means  of  Usefulness 

riences :  A  young  man  hears  warnings  against  de- 
ception, profaneness  and  impurity.  He  says  I  will 
merely  "try"  them  and  see  what  they  are.  Then  he 
"tries"  a  deception,  a  profaneness,  an  impurity.  The 
way  of  "trying"  evil  is  often  the  way  of  experiencing 
death.  Boys  and  men  go  to  destruction  simply  by 
trying  inferior  and  hurtful  tilings.  The  mere  tast- 
ing of  evil  arouses  within  them  an  appetite  for  evil, 
and  the  poison  of  wrong  enters  every  vein  of  their 
life.  For  a  man  to  try  things  not  excellent  when 
he  may  try  things  that  are  excellent,  is  both  folly  and 
sin. 

But  no  wiser  and  safer  course  of  conduct  can  be 
suggested  than  that  of  "trying"  things  that  are  ex- 
cellent. It  is  the  course  of  conduct  that  leads  to 
holy  character. 

"O,  make  but  trial  of  His  love, 
Experience  will  decide 
How  blest  are  they  and  only  they 
Who  in  His  love  abide." 

Discernment  is  needed  to  know  the  things  that 
are  excellent.  Therefore  it  was  that  Paul  prayed 
for  "knowledge  and  judgment."  The  eyes  of  the 
understanding  must  be  opened  if  good  is  to  be 
recognized  as  good  though  it  be  in  rags,  and  evil 
is  to  be  recognized  as  evil  though  it  comes  as  an 

74 


Special  Petitions  for  Our  Beloved 

angel  of  light.  Deception  is  on  every  hand.  It  came 
to  Eve,  it  came  to  Esau,  it  came  to  Solomon.  It 
lurks  in  every  society  where  some  comrade  exerts 
a  pernicious  influence,  it  waits  in  every  street  where 
some  miscreant  whispers  an  evil  solicitation. 

The  men  and  women  who,  always  being  able  to 
know  the  things  that  are  excellent,  approve  them, 
are  sure  to  be  splendid  specimens  of  Christian 
beauty.  "Excellent !"  The  word  makes  us  think  of 
things  that  rise  up  high,  like  the  great  mountains 
that  tower  above  the  foothills  and  have  their  summits 
in  the  skies.  "Excellent!"  The  word  speaks  to  us 
of  graces  that  are  the  supreme  graces — the  lofty 
graces  of  far-advanced  holiness,  of  perfect  peace,  of 
Christlike  joy.  He  who  has  so  long  "tried  the  ex- 
cellent things"  that  they  have  become  incorporated 
into  his  being,  has  very  exalted  ideals  and  very  ex- 
alted joys.  He  cannot  demean  himself  to  the  low 
and  the  soiled. 

The  third  petition  in  Paul's  prayer  for  the  Philip- 
pians  is  "that  ye  may  be  sincere  and  without  of- 
fense till  the  day  of  Christ." 

There  is  a  wealth  of  significance  in  the  adjective 
"sincere"  as  Paul  used  it.  Our  English  translators 
chose  a  strong  word  when  they  translated  Paul's  ad- 
jective "sincere."     Sincere  is  a  Latin  word  meaning 

75 


A  Mighty  Means  of  Usefulness 

without  wax  {sine  cera).  The  Latins  applied  it  to 
a  vase  that  did  not  need  to  be  patched  up  but  was 
perfectly  whole.  Sometimes  vases  had  cracks  which 
were  concealed  by  wax.  But  a  sincere  vase  had  no 
faults  of  any  kind  needing  to  be  covered.  So  a  sin- 
cere man  is  a  genuine  man,  free  from  flaws,  sound 
and  whole  in  every  respect. 

But  Paul's  Greek  adjective  really  means  "proved 
in  the  sunlight."  It  suggests  a  type  of  character 
that  can  stand  the  strongest  inspection.  A  cloth  seen 
in  the  dim  or  in  the  artificial  light  of  a  store  appears 
one  thing.  Take  that  cloth  out  into  the  sunlight 
and  it  is  seen  to  be  another  thing.  David  seemed 
fair  so  long  as  no  sunlight  fell  upon  him,  but  when 
Nathan  made  him  stand  where  the  sunlight  fell 
directly  upon  him,  then  David  was  no  longer  fair 
but  foul.  Judas  in  the  shadow  was  a  friend :  Judas 
in  the  sunlight  was  a  traitor.  The  sunlight  is  a  re- 
vealer.  When  the  sunlight  of  full  scrutiny  falling 
on  motives  causes  those  motives  to  appear  brighter 
and  purer,  the  sunlight  reveals  a  magnificent  char- 
acter. It  is  this  feature  of  Christ's  life  that  is  so 
unique:  it  was  spent  in  the  open,  where  men  con- 
stantly saw  him,  and  still  not  one  of  them  all  could 
find  a  flaw  in  His  character.  Even  the  man  who 
betrayed  Him  was  obliged  to  testify  to  Christ's  spot- 

76 


Special  Petitions  for  Our  Beloved 

lessness  as  he  declared  "I  have  betrayed  innocent 
blood." 

The  men  of  today  who,  "proved  in  the  sunlight," 
are  seen  to  be  pure  and  unselfish  are  the  men  who 
draw  their  families  and  their  associates  to  Christ. 
Sooner  or  later  the  searchlight  of  inspection  falls 
upon  every  one.  He  whose  integrity  and  high- 
mindedness  then  become  the  more  apparent,  is  the 
man  who  most  glorifies  the  name  of  Christian  and 
most  adds  power  to  the  Christian  Church. 

This  third  petition  asks  that  men  be  sincere  and 
also,  "without  offense."  An  offense  is  that  which 
causes  people  to  stumble.  If  a  stone  or  log  or  animal 
is  in  a  pathway  and  people  stumble  over  it,  that 
stone,  log  or  animal  is  an  offense.  In  the  olden  time 
special  roadways  led  to  the  "cities  of  refuge."  The 
fleeing  man  who  could  reach  one  of  these  cities 
ahead  of  his  pursuer  was  safe.  Great  attention  was 
paid  to  these  roadways.  Everything  that  could  pos- 
sibly cause  a  runner  to  stumble  was  removed  from 
them.  The  purpose  was  to  make  the  way  to  salva- 
tion clear — without  a  single  "offense"  in  it.  To 
leave  in  the  roadway  one  stone  that  would  cause  the 
runner  to  fall  and  so  to  fail  of  reaching  the  city  of 
refuge  was  a  terrible  wrong. 

So  today  it  is  a  terrible  wrong  to  be  an  offense  to 
77 


A  Mighty  Means  of  Usefulness 

any  one  on  his  way  to  the  city  of  God.  Good  things 
left  undone,  as  well  as  evil  things  done,  may  make 
us  an  offense.  If  our  virtues  are  not  bright,  our 
very  dimness  may  cause  the  ruin  of  others.  The  low 
burning  of  the  lamp  in  the  lighthouse  has  been 
known  to  wreck  vessels.  To  be  silent,  giving  no 
alarm  when  danger  approaches,  is  to  let  our  brother 
be  unprepared  for  the  danger.  The  man  that  is 
"without  offense"  is  a  great  spiritual  helper.  To  go 
through  one's  whole  life  never  hindering  one  single 
soul  from  being  better  but  the  rather  aiding  many 
souls  toward  God  and  the  joys  of  heaven,  is  an  ex- 
perience we  may  well  wish  for  ourselves  and  may 
well  seek  for  others. 

"Till  the  day  of  Christ."  Such  is  the  ending  of 
this  petition  to  "be  sincere  and  without  offense." 
Some  day  the  Master  is  to  appear.  All  things  then 
will  be  seen  in  His  light.  That  light  will  search 
men's  hearts  and  lives  even  as  the  sunlight  has 
failed  to  do.  Men  shall  be  completely  revealed  to 
themselves  and  completely  declared  to  others. 
Happy  they  who  then — in  the  day  of  Christ — shall 
be  seen  to  be  "sincere  and  without  offense." 

Paul's  prayer  for  the  Philippians  closes  with  the 
words,  "being  filled  with  the  fruits  of  righteousness 
which  are  by  Jesus  Christ,  unto  the  glory  and  praise 
of  God." 

78 


Special  Petitions  for  Our  Beloved 

These  words  constitute  the  fourth  petition  of 
Paul's  prayer.  They  voice  his  wish  that  those  whom 
he  loves  may  have  an  abundant  experience  of  the 
benefits  of  God's  grace.  "Filled!"  Paul  loved  to 
use  the  words  "full"  and  "filled."  He  sought  the 
full  indwelling  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  his  own  heart 
and  he  desired  that  same  full  indwelling  in  the 
hearts  of  others.  He  longed  to  have  righteousness 
the  overpowering  passion  of  men's  souls.  He  prayed 
that  they  might  be  filled  with  the  knowledge  of  God's 
will  and  that  their  peace  might  pass  understanding. 
His  own  spiritual  experience  was  rich  and  deep. 
"That  ye  may  be  filled  with  all  the  fulness  of  God" 
was  his  desire  for  others. 

Filled  "with  the  fruits  of  righteousness."  The 
fruits  of  righteousness  are  comfort  and  content,  en- 
ergy and  sweetness,  power  and  salvation.  Filled 
with  such  fruits !  The  autumn  time  suggests  the 
beauty  of  such  an  experience.  When  the  mows  are 
filled  with  hay  and  the  bins  are  filled  with  grain, 
the  time  for  harvest  joy  has  come.  All  nations  sing 
that  joy,  Russia  and  England,  France  and  America. 
The  fruits  of  harvest  are  glorious,  so  too  are  the 
fruits  of  righteousness.  He  who  is  filled  with  the 
fruits  of  righteousness  has  a  heart  filled  with  last- 
ing happiness  and  a  life  filled  with  abiding  strength. 

79 


A  Mighty  Means  of  Usefulness 

"Which  are  by  Jesus  Christ."  Yes,  Jesus  Christ 
is  the  source  and  means  whereby  these  fruits  enter 
the  heart  and  life.  And  when  once  they  enter 
the  heart  and  life,  these  fruits  are  "unto  the  glory 
and  praise  of  God."  They  cause  those  in  whom 
they  dwell  to  reflect  honor  on  God.  Men  "filled  with 
the  fruits  of  righteousness"  are  living  illustrations 
of  the  power  of  divine  grace :  they  are  God's  epistles 
written  to  show  the  beauty  of  His  service.  On  earth 
they  are  God's  attractive  ambassadors  and  then  in 
heaven  they  are  God's  eternal  "glory  and  praise." 

In  the  history  of  Hamburg  occurs  the  story  of  an 
intercession.  The  city  was  besieged.  Days  and 
weeks  had  worn  on  until  the  people  of  this  city  were 
in  distress.  The  day  came  when  it  seemed  to  the 
commander  that  he  could  not  hold  out  another  hour. 
Heavy  hearted  he  entered  his  garden.  His  armor 
had  not  been  put  off  for  many  nights.  As  he  walked 
through  the  garden  he  noticed  the  cherries  on  the 
trees.  They  were  large,  ripe,  luscious.  A  thought 
came  to  him.  Next  day  he  dressed  three  hundred 
children  of  Hamburg  in  white.  Then  he  loaded 
them  with  these  cherry  branches.  When  all  was 
ready  he  opened  the  gates  of  the  city  and  had  the 
children  walk  straight  toward  the  besiegers.  The 
besiegers  could   not   imagine   what  the  procession 

80 


Special  Petitions  for  Our  Beloved 

meant.  Children  in  white,  bearing  branches  of  fruit ! 
Was  it  a  stratagem?  They  awaited  the  coming  of 
the  children.  When  they  saw  their  innocency,  re- 
ceived their  fruit  and  learned  the  dire  need  of  Ham- 
burg, the  commander's  appeal  to  their  mercy  touched 
the  hearts  of  the  besiegers.  Next  day  the  besiegers 
moved  away  from  Hamburg  and  the  city  was  saved ! 

The  prayers  of  intercession  are  seemingly  weak 
means  of  good:  but  when  we  bring  those  prayers 
t<  God,  as  the  children  carried  the  branches,  in  love 
a>  id  in  earnestness,  those  prayers  are  appeals  that 
n  ach  God's  heart  and  secure  the  blessings  that  are 
si  ught.    Well  may  we  then  pray  for  our  beloved : 

"That  your  love  may  abound  yet  more  and 
a\3re  in  all  knowledge  and  judgment, 

"That  ye  may  approve  things  that  are  ex- 
c  ;llent, 

"That  ye  may  be  sincere  and  without  of- 
fense TILL  THE  DAY  OF  CHRIST  : 

"Being  filled  with  the  fruits  of  righteous- 
ness, WHICH  ARE  BY  JESUS  CHRIST,  UNTO  THE 
a^ORY  AND  PRAISE  OF  GOD." 


81 


XTbe  Cbrfstfan  Worfeer'8  Untercesston. 

In  a  village  in  New  York  state  the  following  scene 
once  occurred.  The  pastor  of  the  church  was  to  go 
away.  All  the  families  dwelling  within  two  miles 
of  the  church  belonged  to  his  congregation.  The 
pastor  had  labored  long  and  faithfully  among  them. 
His  life  had  been  blameless.  His  preaching  had 
been  forceful.  He  had  gone  into  the  homes  with 
interest  and  affection  for  all.  Besides,  he  had 
spoken  some  word  of  counsel  to  almost  every  in- 
dividual in  the  entire  congregation.  He  had  rebuked, 
encouraged,  comforted  and  persuaded,  according 
to  the  need  in  each  case.  On  the  morning  of  his 
departure  he  came  to  a  rising  ground  whence  he 
could  see  the  church,  the  houses  lining  the  village 
street,  and  the  scattered  homes  of  more  than  three- 
fourths  of  his  people.  There  he  turned  and  looked 
back.  Then  he  stretched  out  his  arms,  lifted  his 
eyes,  and  with  quivering  voice  called  upon  God: 
"Blessed  Father,  this  is  the  people  I  have  loved.  I 
have  labored  for  them  with  my  whole  soul.     I  can 

82 


The  Christian  Worker  s  Intercession 

do  no  more.  Do  Thou  take  care  of  them,  and  bless 
them,  and  bring  them  one  and  all  to  Thy  glory." 

Then  he  looked  once  more  upon  all  the  homes 
where  the  old  and  the  young,  the  thoughtful  and 
thoughtless  were,  turned  about  and  passed  on  his 
way. 

That  scene  does  not  stand  alone  in  the  world's 
history.  Abraham  Lincoln  once  said  :  "  I  have  been 
driven  many  times  to  my  knees  by  the  overwhelm- 
ing conviction  that  I  had  no  other  place  to  go." 
Thousands  of  earnest,  faithful  men,  having  used 
every  means  within  their  power  for  the  spiritual 
good  of  others,  have  reached  moments  when  no 
other  resource  was  left  them  except  prayer.  "What 
more  can  I  do  ?"  a  teacher  of  a  Sunday  school  class 
often  asks  after  he  has  put  his  whole  soul  into  trying 
to  make  Scripture  truths  reach  the  hearts  of  his 
scholars.  "What  more  can  I  do?"  a  parent  often 
asks,  after  he  has  tried  to  live  spotlessly  in  his  home, 
and  has  spoken  to  his  children  with  all  possible  per- 
suasion of  Christ's  claims  for  their  allegiance. 

At  such  times  there  is  but  one  answer.  It  is  the 
answer  given  in  Paul's  example  at  Miletus.  For 
three  years  he  had  labored  in  Ephesus.  He  had 
been  manly,  independent,  and  tender.  He  had 
worked  with  his  own  hands  to  support  himself;  he 

83 


A  Mighty  Means  of  Usefulness 

had  coveted  no  man's  money;  he  had  gone  from 
house  to  house  by  day  and  by  night  saying  the  need- 
ful word  and  showing  a  self-denying,  loving  spirit. 
He  had  been  a  faithful  friend  and  a  faithful  min- 
ister. He  had  testified  by  his  life  and  by  his  lips  to 
the  beauty  of  Christ.  He  had — even  with  tears — 
urged  people  to  leave  sin  and  walk  in  righteousness. 

But  now  his  opportunity  was  over.  He  was  to 
see  their  faces  no  more.  He  had  done  and  said 
enough  to  enable  every  one  of  them  to  be  a  splendid 
Christian,  at  once  a  blessing  to  his  fellows  and  an 
honor  to  God.  Only  one  resource  remained  pos- 
sible to  him :  that  was  prayer.  He  knew  the  abso- 
lute necessity  for  heaven's  blessing  on  his  work.  He 
himself  said,  "Paul  may  plant,  Apollos  may  water, 
but  God  giveth  the  increase."  Prayer  was  to  him 
a  refuge  and  a  strength.  Accordingly,  on  the  sands 
of  the  sea  shore,  surrounded  by  the  representative 
workers  of  the  Ephesian  church,  he  knelt  down  and 
lifted  his  heart  toward  heaven  in  petition. 

What  was  the  nature  of  Paul's  prayer?  We  are 
not  told  positively.  But  we  are  told  so  suggestively 
that  we  feel  sure  its  nature  is  indicated  in  the  words 
of  his  farewell : 

"And  now,  brethren,  I  commend  you  to 
God  and  to  the  word  of  His  grace,  which  is 
84 


The  Christian  Worker's  Intercession 

ABLE  TO  BUILD  YOU  UP  AND  TO  GIVE  YOU  AN  IN- 
HERITANCE AMONG  ALL  THEM  WHICH  ARE 
SANCTIFIED." 

The  key-word  of  the  prayer  is  the  word  "able." 
The  word  "able"  refers  both  to  God  and  also  to 
"the  word  of  His  grace."  "Able,"  "able,"  "able"— 
that  was  the  idea  in  Paul's  mind  as  he  knelt  down 
to  pray  for  these  Christian  workers. 

He  commended  them  to  God.  What  does  it  mean 
to  "commend"  a  person  to  God?  To  commend  to 
God  is  to  hand  over  to  God  for  His  care  and  bless- 
ing. When  Christ  came  to  the  final  moment  of  His 
life  He  said,  "Father,  into  Thy  hand  I  commend  my 
spirit."  Thus  He  intrusted  His  spirit  to  God  for 
His  care  and  His  blessing.  If  today  a  dying  parent 
desired  to  make  provision  for  his  child,  so  that  the 
child  after  his  death  should  have  proper  oversight 
and  protection,  he  would  call  to  his  bedside  some 
friend  in  whose  integrity,  wisdom  and  loyalty  he 
had  confidence,  and  he  would  say  to  him:  "Here  is 
my  boy.  I  want  you  to  take  him  and  do  for  him 
everything  you  can,  so  that  all  will  be  well  with  him. 
I  commend  him  to  you." 

But  is  there  any  special  reason  why  we  should 
thus  "commend"  people  to  God?  Are  they  in  any 
particular  danger?     One  thing  Paul  felt  and  felt 

85 


A  Mighty  Means  of  Usefulness 

with  his  whole  being — the  exposure  of  every  Chris- 
tian to  spiritual  peril.  He  never  complained  of  this 
peril.  Nor  on  the  other  hand  did  he  ever  forget  it. 
To  Paul  every  man's  soul  was  the  battle  field  where 
Satan  fought  desperately.  Life  to  him  was  not  so 
much  a  game  of  chess  which  Satan  plays  with  every 
youth,  the  youth's  soul  being  the  stake.  Nor  was  it 
so  much  all  sorts  of  frightful  creatures,  such  as 
Bunyan  saw,  threatening  every  pilgrim's  progress 
toward  Heaven.  It  was  more  than  these.  To  Paul 
human  life  was  an  army  of  actual  evil  beings  who, 
well  organized  and  well  directed,  had  but  one  mis- 
sion— the  ruin  of  man's  soul.  They  were  principali- 
ties and  powers  and  rulers  of  darkness — spiritual 
foes  that  were  all  the  more  effective  because  they 
were  unseen,  foes  that,  subtly  infusing  into  the  soul 
erroneous  ideas,  weakened  its  principles  and  per- 
suaded it  into  evil.  Paul  never  lost  this  idea  from 
his  thinking.  To  him  all  the  influences  of  hell  were 
in  league  against  a  soul's  welfare.  Therefore  in 
the  very  spirit  of  his  Master  he  kept  urging  men 
always  to  be  on  their  guard.  He  exhorted  them  to 
realize  that  one  single  hour  of  carelessness  might 
imperil  their  eternal  welfare. 

Nor  was  Paul  wrong.    It  is  just  as  certain  as  the 
fact  of  existence  that  the  careless  soul,  even  in  the 

86 


The  Christian  Worker's  Intercession 

Christian  worker,  is  exposed  to  spiritual  danger. 
In  Ephesus  there  were  persons  eager  to  mislead 
those  very  people  whom  Paul  had  taught.  These 
persons  were  ready  to  turn  converts  back  to  idolatry, 
to  lure  them  again  into  the  vices  of  Diana  worship 
and  to  make  them  worse  than  they  had  been  before 
Paul  rescued  them.  There  are  such  people  in  the 
world  now.  No  words  can  be  too  severe  to  charac- 
terize them.  "Grievous  wolves"  Paul  called  such 
people — "wolves"  because  they  do  not  hesitate  to 
take  simplicity  and  deceive  it,  innocence  and  corrupt 
it,  high  mindedness  and  pull  it  down  to  destruction. 

Once  in  Texas  I  saw  brought  into  ranch  head- 
quarters the  skins  of  eight  little  wolves.  Why  was 
anybody  killing  little  wolves?  Because  those  little 
wolves,  left  unkilled,  some  day  would  be  grown. 
Then  a  band  of  them  would  find  a  bunch  of  cattle 
that  was  astray  on  the  ranch  plains.  The  wolves 
would  surround  the  bunch,  would  select  some  spe- 
cial animal  as  their  victim,  and  every  time  that  in 
the  "milling"  it  came  near  them,  would  bite  at  its 
flanks.  At  last  the  animal,  weakened  by  loss  of 
blood,  would  fall.  A  moment  later  they  would  be 
tearing  it  to  pieces. 

A  wolf  among  young  cattle  is  a  fearful  thing. 
A  wolf  among  sheep  is  even  more  fearful.     But  a 

87 


A  Mighty  Means  of  Usefulness 

wolf  in  human  form  among  weak  souls  is  the  most 
fearful  of  all  fearful  things. 

That  minister  in  the  New  York  State  village  look- 
ing back  in  his  farewell  saw  the  village  tavern. 
There  was  the  cheerful  bar-room  where  many  a 
parishioner  had  tarried,  sometimes  drinking  too 
much,  sometimes  listening  to  low  and  soiled  con  • 
versation.  Again  and  again,  after  he  had  almost 
persuaded  his  parishioners  to  Christian  earnestness, 
these  parishioners  had  been  drawn  into  the  tavern. 
Somehow  before  they  came  out  all  their  concern 
for  the  religious  life  had  disappeared.  That  tavern 
was  to  him  like  a  great  wolf :  it  destroyed  his  sheep. 
Satan  must  have  laughed  many  and  many  a  time 
as  he  saw  the  change  wrought  in  one  short  quartet 
of  an  hour  in  that  tavern. 

Wherever  people  go  there  are  spiritual  dangers. 
They  may  be  as  imperceptible  as  malaria,  but  as 
powerful.  There  are  Congressmen  who  leave  their 
quiet  home  churches  to  go  to  Washington.  When 
they  return  home  it  seems  as  though  the  life-blood  o) 
their  piety  had  been  sucked  dry.  Let  any  parent 
know  that  tomorrow  his  child  is  to  be  placed  in 
such  surroundings  of  temptation  as  Joseph  faced 
when  carried  to  Egypt :  let  any  friend  know  that  to- 
morrow his  companion  is  to  meet  the  evils  that  are 

88 


The  Christian  Worker's  Intercession 

waiting  to  ensnare  youth,  to  mislead  maturity  and 
to  deceive  even  age.  Then  if  parent  and  friend 
love  child  and  companion  they  will  rejoice  in  "com- 
mending" these  exposed  ones  to  God's  care. 

It  is  because  mothers  and  fathers  love  so  tenderly 
and  understand  life's  evil  so  clearly  that  they  com- 
mend the  child  to  God.  They  lay  their  hands  upon 
the  child's  shoulder,  look  firmly  into  his  eyes  and 
say,  "Go,  my  child,  I  ask  God  to  care  for  you."  Then 
they  turn  away  and  in  secret  shed  tears  of  affection 
for  the  child  as  they  kneel  and  entrust  him  to  God. 
Oh  for  prayer,  today,  from  hearts  the  world  over, 
that  shall  thus  "commend"  each  exposed  soul  to 
the  protection  and  blessing  of  God. 

There  was  one  other  feature  of  this  prayer  for  the 
Ephesians.  Remember  that  it  is  not  the  prayer  of 
an  inactive,  easy-going  Christian.  It  is  the  prayer 
of  one  who  has  put  his  very  life-blood  into  efforts 
for  others.  Remember  too  that  this  prayer  says 
nothing  about  health  of  body,  nor  safety  of  home, 
nor  preservation  of  life.  The  prayer  deals  wholly 
with  Christian  character.  After  commending  the 
Ephesians  to  God  Himself,  it  commends  them  to 
His  "word." 

Paul  had  immense  faith  in  the  value  of  the  Bible 
as  a  means  of  spiritual  blessing.     Lately  a  sermon 

89 


A  Mighty  Means  of  Usefulness 

was  preached  in  Trinity  Church,  Boston,  on  the 
subject  of  weak  Christian  lives,  and  upon  religious 
indifference  and  doubt.  Said  the  preacher,  "People 
are  coming  to  me  every  week  and  saying  that  they 
have  lost  their  faith  and  that  they  have  no  strength 
of  Christian  convictions.  They  are  university  stu- 
dents, they  are  graduates,  they  are  young  men  in 
business  and  older  people  in  society.  I  ask  them  if 
they  are  keeping  up  regular  attendance  upon  church 
services  where  the  Bible  is  read,  taught,  prayed  and 
sung.     Almost  invariably  they  answer,  'No.'  " 

The  very  familiarity  of  the  Bible  often  detracts 
from  the  force  of  its  message.  Its  words  fall  im- 
potent upon  the  heart.  And  still  the  Bible,  under 
God,  has  such  a  power  in  it  that  it  may  both  protect 
from  evil  and  also  secure  holiness.  It  is  a  word  of 
"grace," —  that  is,  of  love,  undeserved  love.  The 
Bible  as  a  "word  of  grace"  is  a  provision  by  love 
and  is  an  expression  of  love.  It  reveals  to  men  that 
personal  love  which  God  has  for  each  of  them,  the 
knowledge  of  which  should  make  every  human  crea- 
ture understand  his  unspeakable  value  in  God's 
sight,  and  should  summon  him  irresistibly  from  all 
discouragement  and  sin. 

That  "word"  purposes  to  do  two  things  for  men. 
The  one,  to  make  them  perfect  men  in  this  present 

90 


The  Christian  Worker's  Intercession 

life;  the  other,  to  insure  them  perfect  blessedness 
in  the  life  to  come. 

The  method  by  which  this  first  purpose  is  to  be 
carried  out  is  noticeable.  The  word  indicating  that 
method  is  the  word  "build."  The  Bible  is  to  do  for 
men  exactly  what  a  builder  does  when  he  erects 
a  house.  He  makes  his  foundation  and  then  by 
gradual  processes  of  construction  he  erects  a  build- 
ing. The  advancement  is  not  hasty.  Jonah's  gourd 
sprang  up  in  a  day,  and  perished  in  a  day.  But  no 
building  of  worthy  size  and  beauty,  intended  to 
last  many  years,  can  be  made  in  a  day.  Years  upon 
years  must  go  into  the  building  of  perfect  character. 
This  process  of  building  a  complete  man  is  slower 
than  any  other  process  with  which  we  have  to  do. 
And  still  the  very  slowness  of  this  process  suggests 
that  character  thus  formed  is  made  to  last,  to  last 
as  it  would  seem,  for  an  eternity. 

But  the  Bible  is  "able"  to  accomplish  this  great 
result.  Rightly  used  it  is  the  means  of  transforming 
weakness  into  strength  and  even  of  changing  death 
into  life.  If  read  superstitiously  as  a  charm,  or 
irreverently  as  an  ordinary  book,  or  formally  as  a 
matter  of  letter  rather  than  of  spirit,  it  becomes  a 
hindrance  to  the  soul.  But  if  read  aright  it  " builds 
up  the  soul  in  Jesus  Christ  and  establishes  it  in  the 
faith." 

91 


A  Mighty  Means  of  Usefulness 

When  the  soul  tests  all  views  of  life  by  the  Bible's 
views,  and  when  the  soul  is  dominated  by  Christ's 
purity,  self-sacrifice,  and  self-control,  then  the  soul 
becomes  stronger  and  stronger  for  duty,  wiser  and 
wiser  for  truth — sweeter,  happier,  and  holier.  The 
reverent  heed  of  God's  word  secures  firmness  in 
principle  and  development  in  power. 

Such  continuous  use  of  the  Bible  never  fails  of 
profitable  results.  To  pray  that  people  may  hide 
the  Bible  in  their  minds  and  hearts  is  to  pray  that 
they  may  grow  pure  and  useful.  To  give  a  person 
a  Bible  with  the  expressed  or  unexpressed  prayer 
that  it  may  be  all  that  God  designed  it  to  be  to  that 
person  is  to  pray  that  the  person — little  by  little, 
but  with  all  sureness — may  be  "built  up"  into  a 
noble,  helpful,  attractive  Christian. 

Give  the  Bible  opportunity  and  it  will  do  its  work. 
"Can  you  make  a  good  mechanic  of  me?"  the  young 
man  asked  as  he  went  to  the  master  mechanic.  "I 
can  if  you  will  do  just  what  I  tell  you  and  will  con- 
tinue doing  so  for  five  years."  "Can  you  make  a 
singer  of  me?"  the  young  man  asked  as  he  went  to 
the  singing  teacher.  "Yes,  certainly  I  can,  if  you 
will  listen  to  all  I  say  and  will  practice  what  I  say, 
for  seven  years."  The  hope  of  the  master  mechanic 
and  of  the  singing  teacher  is  in  having  opportunity. 

92 


The  Christian  Worker's  Intercession 

Let  the  Bible  have  opportunity  and  the  desired  re- 
sults are  certain. 

One  thing  else  God  and  the  Bible  can  do  besides 
"building  up;"  they  can  "give  an  inheritance  among 
all  them  which  are  sanctified." 

During  all  those  years  when  the  Israelites  of  old 
wandered  in  the  desert,  they  had  a  hope  that  sus- 
tained and  inspired  them.  They  looked  ahead  to  a 
blessed  land  where  wandering  would  be  forever 
over  and  all  the  uncertainties  of  pilgrimage  would 
cease.  There  each  one  of  them  would  receive  an 
"inheritance,"  a  safe  and  happy  spot,  where,  sur- 
rounded by  God's  people,  he  would  have  his  per- 
petual home.  The  thought  of  that  inheritance 
(God's  gift  reserved  for  them,  His  children  and 
heirs)  put  courage  and  strength  into  the  Israelites. 
It  spoke  to  them  of  trial  ended  and  of  joy  perpetu- 
ated. 

The  word  "inheritance"  passed  from  the  Old  into 
the  New  Testament.  Christian  writers  used  it. 
They  gave  it  an  enlarged  meaning.  With  them  it 
stood  for  the  perfect  and  eternal  blessedness  which 
God  confers  upon  His  people  when  Christ's  work  is 
complete.  "The  inheritance  among  all  them  that 
are  sanctified"  is  God's  Heaven.  But  God's  Heaven 
is  the  holiness,  the  peace,  and  the  fellowship  which 

93 


A  Mighty  Means  of  Usefulness 

are  the  crowning  possibilities  of  human  life  and 
whose  sphere  is  the  very  presence  of  God.  "Oh, 
God,"  prays  the  mother  when  her  boy  goes  from 
home  to  the  war,  "Oh,  God,  bring  my  boy  home  in 
joy  and  safety."  So  the  man  who  loves  souls  prays, 
"Oh,  God,  bring  these  souls  to  Heaven,  pure  and 
true.  Guard  them,  keep  them  all  through  this 
earthly  life,  and  at  last,  sanctified  and  worthy,  wel- 
come them  to  Thy  home." 

That  is  a  prayer  that  may  well  be  on  our  lips  for 
all  Christian  workers.  It  is  a  request  to  God  that 
the  outcome  of  life  may  be  eternal  blessedness.  As 
the  owner  of  a  vessel,  when  the  vessel  starts  upon 
the  ocean,  may  say,  "I  hope  my  boat  will  have  a 
prosperous  voyage,  carrying  its  cargo  in  safety,  out- 
riding all  gales  and  entering  its  port  in  peace :"  so 
we  may  pray  that  men  should  live  beautifully  and 
at  the  end  reach  Heaven.  Many  a  man  has  had 
this  wish  for  his  friend.  The  wish  is  a  noble  one — 
that  the  friend  may  live  so  worthily  that  God  at  the 
last  will  honor  him  with  the  crown  of  life.  That  is 
exactly  what  Paul  prayed  for  the  Ephesians  and 
what  we  should  pray  for  others. 

God  and  His  word  are  "able"  thus  to  "sanctify" 
men.  His  word  is  a  purifying  power.  Christ's  in- 
cisive utterances  concerning  covetousness,  hatred, 

94 


The  Christian  Worker's  Intercession 

impurity  and  formalism  condemn  and  humble  men. 
Christ's  gentle  utterances  concerning  forgiveness 
and  love  comfort  and  heal  men.  Let  the  Bible  do 
its  perfect  work,  and  men  will  be  sweetened,  en- 
riched and  even  "sanctified"  until  the  pathway  of 
their  souls  shall  run  straight  on  to  Heaven. 

The  editor  of  one  of  the  most  influential  news- 
papers of  New  York  City  went  one  winter  day  into 
the  hills  of  New  England.  Night  came  on  while  he 
was  still  far  from  his  destination.  The  snow  was 
deep.  He  lost  his  way.  He  could  not  tell  which 
road  to  take.  No  one  was  at  hand  to  guide  him. 
He  was  helpless.  No  house  was  in  sight.  At  last 
he  detected  a  light  far  in  the  distance.  He  drove 
toward  it.  He  found  that  it  was  in  a  school  house 
and  that  a  little  handful  of  people  were  meeting 
there  to  pray.  They  were  "commending  souls  to 
God  and  His  word."  They  had  tramped  through 
the  snow  as  best  they  could  and  were  here  to  make 
intercession.  He  asked  them  the  direction  he  should 
take.    They  gave  it.    He  drove  away  and  was  safe. 

That  little  meeting  on  the  cold,  snowy  night,  made 
up  of  people  who  had  left  their  warm  homes  that 
together  they  might  offer  supplication  to  God,  stayed 
in  the  editor's  memory.  When  he  reached  the  great 
city  the   meeting  constantly   asserted   itself   in  his 

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A  Mighty  Means  of  Usefulness 

mind.  As  he  saw  men  giving  large  checks  for 
charity  he  thought  of  it.  As  he  studied  the  many 
beautiful  efforts  made  for  human  betterment  he 
thought  of  it. 

One  day  he  wrote  an  article  for  the  daily  issue 
of  his  paper,  describing  his  experience  on  that  win- 
ter night.  He  showed  the  whole  scene,  the  hills,  the 
snow,  the  lost  traveler,  the  school  house  and  the 
little  band  of  interceding  souls.  Then  in  a  conclu- 
sion that  expressed  his  profoundest  conviction,  he 
said :  "  I  believe  that  such  meetings  as  that  which 
proved  light  and  safety  to  me  are  today  the  greatest 
power  in  the  world  to  bring  light  and  safety  to  the 
souls  of  men." 


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Best  IRequests  tot  Best  people* 

In  his  own  unique  and  happy  way  Spurgeon 
once  described  the  difference  between  great  and 
small  intercessions.     He  said: 

"It  may  be  your  prayer  is  like  a  ship,  which,  when 
it  goes  on  a  very  long  voyage,  does  not  come  home 
laden  so  soon;  but  when  it  does  come  home,  it  has 
a  richer  freight.  Mere  '  coasters  '  will  bring  you 
coals,  or  such  like  ordinary  things ;  but  they  that  go 
afar  to  Tarshish  return  with  gold  and  ivory. 
Coasting  prayers,  such  as  we  pray  every  day,  bring 
us  many  necessaries;  but  there  are  great  prayers, 
which,  like  the  old  Spanish  galleons,  cross  the  main 
ocean,  and  are  longer  out  of  sight,  but  come  home 
deep  laden  with  a  golden  freight." 

In  intercession  requests  do  vary  in  importance. 
Some  requests  seek  good  things,  some  seek  better 
things,  some  seek  best  things.  Intercession  for  the 
best  people  should  seek  the  very  best  blessings  that 
can  be  asked.  So  Paul  thought  when  he  interceded 
for  the  Thessalonians.    Their  religious  conduct  was 

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A  Mighty  Means  of  Usefulness 

of  a  noble  order.  They  were  people  for  whose  spir- 
ituality and  strength  he  always  thanked  God.  He 
even  gloried  in  their  piety  and  wherever  he  went 
mentioned  their  goodness  with  the  highest  approba- 
tion. 

He  put  his  requests  for  these  Thessalonians  into 
this  prayer: 

"Wherefore  also  we  pray  always  for  you, 
"That  our  God  would  count  you  worthy  of 
this  calling, 

"And  fulfil  all  the  pleasure  of  His  good- 
ness AND  THE  WORK  OF  FAITH   WITH   POWER: 

"That  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 

may  be  glorified  in  you — and  ye  in  hlm, 
"According  to  the  grace  of  our  God  and 

the  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

The  first  request  of  this  prayer  is  "that  God 
would  count  you  worthy  of  this  calling.17 

"This  calling"  is  an  inclusive  phrase.  It  has  to 
do  both  with  time  and  with  eternity.  It  expresses 
every  duty  of  time  and  every  reward  both  of  time 
and  of  eternity,  to  which  God  invites  the  soul.  It 
means  the  life  of  Christian  service  here  and  the 
life  of  Christian  sanctification  hereafter. 

When  Paul  used  this  phrase,  his  eye  was  on  the 
present  and  the  future  alike.     In  his  judgment  ex- 

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Best  Requests  for  Best  People 

istence  could  be  seen  aright  only  as  it  is  seen  in  the 
light  of  eternity.  All  things  are  not  to  continue  as 
they  are.  "The  day  of  the  Lord"  is  to  come  and 
with  its  coming  great  changes  are  to  ensue.  All 
evil  influences  then  will  be  overpowered.  All  good 
influences  then  will  be  established.  The  eyes  of 
Christ  are  to  search  every  heart.  Every  secret  thing 
is  to  be  uncovered.  That  which  is  impure  shall  be 
put  to  shame.  That  which  is  pure  shall  be  honored. 
The  "day  of  the  Lord"  at  once  will  be  fearful  and 
glorious — fearful  to  the  evil,  glorious  to  the  good. 

When  a  man  is  asked  to  be  a  Christian  he  is 
asked  to  be  ready  for  that  day.  This  is  his  "call- 
ing"— namely,  to  so  live  in  all  lowliness,  meekness, 
endurance  and  love  as  now  to  be  the  very  best  man 
he  can  be  and  then  to  be  prepared  for  eternity. 

There  is  no  appeal  that  can  reach  the  heart  of  man 
comparable  to  this  "calling."  It  summons  to  the 
highest  possible  duties  and  it  enforces  the  strongest 
possible  virtues.  The  Christian  is  to  be  the  very 
best  type  of  man  the  human  mind  can  conceive. 
Such  he  is  to  be  now.  Then  at  the  end,  in  comple- 
tion of  character,  he  is  to  reign  forever  with  God. 

A  man  of  this  "calling"  is  especially  honored. 
Great  responsibility  rests  upon  him.  He  is  chosen 
to  be  God's  fellow-worker  in  saving  the  world.    He 

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A  Mighty  Means  of  Usefulness 

is,  too,  the  man  on  whom  centers  the  gaze  of  all 
those  heavenly  beings  who  watch  the  spiritual  strug- 
gles of  earth.  When  his  work  is  done,  then  comes 
his  greatest  honor — he  is  welcomed  by  Christ  into 
the  everlasting  habitations  of  blessedness. 

Those  who  are  already  started  in  this  "calling" 
need  our  intercession.  Good  and  worthy  as  they 
are,  they  still  lack  many  graces.  Spotlessness  is  not 
yet  theirs.  They  are  not  doing  for  Christ  all  that 
they  may  do,  nor  are  they  being  for  Christ  all  that 
they  may  be.  The  best  Christians  are  the  most  con- 
vinced of  their  deficiencies.  Paul  called  himself 
"chiefest  of  sinners."  The  better  he  became  the 
more  he  felt  his  imperfection.  So  felt  the  faithful 
centurion.  "I  am  not  worthy  that  thou  shouldest 
come  under  my  roof,"  he  said.  "Would  God  that  I 
could  better  illustrate  the  beauty  of  holiness !"  is  the 
language  of  the  truest  Christian. 

But  there  is  a  distinction  between  actually  being 
worthy  of  the  calling  and  being  "counted"  worthy 
of  it.  Christ  selected  twelve  men  to  be  His  disci- 
ples. Every  one  of  them  had  flaws  in  his  character. 
Still  he  "counted"  them  worthy  to  represent  Him. 
John  Newton  was  not  worthy  to  preach  Christ. 
Nor  is  the  mission-worker  worthy  to  teach  Christ. 
Nor    is    any    soul-seeker    worthy    to    call    himself 

ioo 


Best  Requests  for  Best  People 

Christ's  ambassador.  But  God  "counts"  such  men, 
imperfect  as  they  are,  "worthy,"  and  He  uses  them 
to  His  praise. 

It  is  a  great  honor  even  to  be  "counted"  worthy 
of  the  Christian  calling.  There  must  at  least  be 
true  penitence  and  true  consecration  in  a  person's 
heart,  if  he  is  to  be  "counted  worthy."  Every  per- 
son thus  penitent  and  consecrated  God  uses  for  His 
glory.  But  He  will  not  continue  to  use  such  an  one 
unless  penitence  deepens  and  consecration  grows. 

"Counted  worthy!"  That  was  a  great  compli- 
ment paid  the  American  missionaries  after  the  siege 
of  Peking.  When  the  siege  was  over,  the  United 
States  Minister  declared  that  during  all  the  time  of 
peril  the  missionaries  showed  such  energy,  skill  and 
devotion  that  to  them  more  than  to  any  others  was 
due  the  protection  of  the  compound  and  the  preser- 
vation of  the  besieged.  Not  one  of  these  mission- 
aries was  without  his  individual  foibles — and  still 
every  one  of  them  behaved  so  well  that  he  was 
"counted  worthy"  of  the  missionary  calling. 

Whenever  any  man  is  counted  worthy  of  the 
Christian  calling,  he  is  an  honor  to  God.  The  man 
who  buys  and  sells  in  such  a  way  that  his  fellows 
count  him  worthy  of  the  Christian  name  glorifies 
God.     It  sometimes  seems  as  though  the  greatest 


A  Mighty  Means  of  Usefulness 

request  we  could  make  for  Christian  people  is  that 
they  may  be  "counted  worthy  of  their  calling." 
How  rapidly  would  God's  work  advance  if  every 
Christian  were  reverenced  by  his  associates  !  Would 
not  the  finger  of  scorn,  now  pointed  at  Christ's 
church,  immediately  drop — if  the  members  of  that 
church  bore  Christ's  name  worthily? 

It  is  beautiful  when  a  man  already  earnest  be- 
comes increasingly  earnest, — when  a  soul  already 
noble  becomes  increasingly  noble.  It  is  even  glori- 
ous when  a  life  commends  Christ  to  the  world  in- 
creasingly— when  that  life's  influence,  like  a  mighty 
Amazon,  accumulates  volume  at  each  advance. 
Well  may  we  make  the  petition  for  all  holy  men 
of  God,  "Oh,  that  they  may  be  more  and  more  ef- 
fective for  Christ  every  day  they  live !" 

The  second  request  of  Paul's  prayer  for  good 
people  is,  "that  God  may  fulfil  all  the  pleasure  of 
His  goodness,  and  the  work  of  faith  with  power." 

This  is  a  petition  that  all  God's  desires  for  the 
spiritual  development  of  good  people  may  be  thor- 
oughly carried  out! 

His  desires   for  them  are  exceeding  many  and 

exceeding  great.     He   desires  that  every  sin  and 

every  worldliness  be  laid  aside.     He  desires  that 

their  souls  be  absolutely  pure  and  their  lives  might- 

102 


Best  Requests  for  Best  People 

ily  powerful.  What  God  wishes  is  that  the  Chris- 
tian should  be  both  beautiful  and  strong,  so  Christly 
that  men  should  behold  in  him  God's  likeness  and 
that  every  life  touched  by  him,  should  be  enriched 
by  his  goodness.  When  Victoria  was  a  child,  the 
heir  to  a  throne,  her  mother  might  often  have  said 
to  Victoria:  "If  all  my  wishes  for  you  are  fulfilled 
you  will  be  a  true,  pure  woman,  and  you  will  be  a 
wise,  good  queen."  That  mother's  wishes  for  her 
child  were  many  and  large.  She  desired  thousands 
upon  thousands  of  blessings  on  her  child.  But  how 
few  and  small  the  desires  of  any  earthly  parent  for 
a  child  are  compared  to  the  desires  cherished  by 
God  for  those  who  are  at  once  the  children  of  His 
love  and  the  heirs  of  His  glory!  "I  will  dwell  in 
them  and  walk  in  them :  and  I  will  be  their  God,  and 
they  shall  be  my  people."  "I  will  also  perfect  that 
which  concerned!  them." 

This  petition  that  all  God's  desires  for  His  chil- 
dren should  be  fulfilled,  ends  with  the  remarkable 
words  "with  power."  The  prayer  is  that  these 
desires  shall  not  be  fulfilled  weakly  but  fulfilled 
mightily. 

There  is  nothing  in  the  Scripture  more  thrilling 
than  the  word  "power"  as  used  by  God  in  connec- 
tion with  His  blessings.  "Ye  shall  be  baptized 
103 


A  Mighty  Means  of  Usefulness 

with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  with  power,"  Christ  said. 
In  due  time  a  man  like  Peter  who  was  too  weak  to 
confess  Christ  before  one  person  had  such  strength 
that  he  spoke  fearlessly  before  thousands.     Power  f 
Men  never  cease  marveling  at  it.     They  watch  thfl 
ox-cart  lumbering  along  the  highway,  and  they  rec- 
ognize  the  life  in  it,  indicated  by  movement.     Buf 
when  they  stand  beside  the  railway  and  see  the  loco- 
motive come  rushing  down  the  track,  drawing  itf« 
thousands  of  tons  and  sweeping  by  with  resistless 
speed,  they  say  "This  is  power!"    Life  indeed  is  in 
the  ox-cart,  but  life  "with  power"  is  in  the  locomo 
tive. 

When  God  fulfils  His  desires  in  men  "with 
power"  those  desires  are  abundantly,  gloriously  ful- 
filled. Men  thus  blessed  enter  into  the  banqueting, 
house  of  God  and  eat  His  pleasant  fruits.  TheM 
go  forth  in  God's  name  conquering  and  to  conquer. 
"My  people  shall  be  willing  in  the  day  of  my 
power,"  God  said.  When  "God's  power"  is  mani^ 
fested  in  willing  souls,  a  little  one  becomes  a  thou- 
sand and  a  small  one  a  strong  nation.  Before  God's 
mighty  movements  in  the  heart  all  discouragement 
disappears.  Songs  take  the  place  of  sighs.  "The* 
base  things  of  the  world  and  the  things  that  are 
despised,  and  the  things  that  are  not  bring  to  nought 

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Best  Requests  for  Best  People 

the  things  that  are."  Let  God  once  fulfil  His  great 
desires  for  His  people  "with  power,"  and  the  church 
will  not  have  one  weak  member,  nor  will  any- 
Christian  disciple  be  other  than  "a  tower  of 
strength." 

Once,  in  writing  to  the  Colossians,  Paul  explained 
the  secret  of  his  indomitable  courage  and  his  un- 
failing energy.  He  was  speaking  of  the  efforts 
made  by  him  for  the  world's  good.  "Whereunto," 
he  says  of  these  efforts,  "whereunto  I  also  labor, 
striving  according  to  His  working  that  worketh  in 
me  mightily."  In  that  word  "mightily"  was  the 
secret  of  his  robust  character  and  of  his  effective 
influence. 

When  we  ask  God  to  fulfil  all  the  good  pleasure 
of  His  goodness  and  the  work  of  faith  "with  power" 
in  Christian  people,  we  ask  Him  to  reproduce  men 
like  Moses  and  Daniel  and  Paul.  We  ask  Him  to 
make  even  stronger  and  better  men  than  these 
worthies.  Was  it  not  "with  power"  that  God  raised 
Christ  from  the  dead?  If  with  that  same  power  He 
today  implants  Christ  in  human  lives,  then  Chris- 
tians of  shining  holiness  and  far-reaching  fervor 
will  abound,  and  those  who  give  irresistible  testi- 
mony for  Christ  will  be  a  great  multitude. 

Paul's  prayer  for  good  people  reaches  its  climax 

105 


A  Mighty  Means  of  Usefulness 

in  the  third  petition.  He  prayed  "that  the  name 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  may  be  glorified  in  you  and 
ye  in  Him." 

No  greater,  higher  prayer  than  this  can  be  of- 
fered. Here  is  the  consummate  petition  of  all  pe- 
titions for  good  people. 

This  petition  has  in  view  both  the  present  day 
of  earthly  service  and  that  other  day,  "the  great 
day,"  when  Christ  comes  in  glorious  majesty,  and 
every  eye  shall  see  Him. 

To  pray  that  Christ's  name  may  be  "glorified" 
in  men  is  to  ask  much.  The  "name"  of  Christ  is 
that  by  which  Christ  is  known.  Christ's  name 
stands  for  Christ's  kingdom  and  for  Christ  Him- 
self. 

The  prayer  is  not  that  Christ's  name  may  be 
glorified  in  the  words  nor  even  in  the  deeds  of  men. 
Many  a  man  whose  heart  was  evil  has  said  kind 
words  about  Christ  and  has  even  dedicated  churches 
to  Christ.  The  prayer  is  that  Christ's  name  may 
be  glorified  "in  you."  It  is  a  prayer  for  such  holy 
character  in  Christian  people  as  shall  actually 
"glorify"  their  Master. 

It  is  much  to  "glorify"  anyone  or  anything  that 
is  great.  Successful  runners  in  the  Olympic  games 
glorified  the  city  of  their  birth.     Franklin  when  his 

106 


Best  Requests  for  Best  People 

representations  secured  the  recognition  of  France 
for  the  American  Colonies  glorified  his  country. 
Even  so  a  man  may  glorify  Him  "in  whose  name 
every  knee  should  bow,  of  things  in  heaven  and 
things  in  earth  and  things  under  the  earth  I"  Such 
glory  from  man  is  Christ's  highest  glory. 

Here  is  a  fact  of  marvelous  significance — the 
highest  glory  of  Jesus  Christ  comes  to  Him  from 
redeemed  and  sanctified  humanity.  Men  and 
women  that  are  true,  pure,  holy  are  His  greatest 
honor.  When  the  persecuting  Saul  became  the 
preaching  Paul,  he  became  a  glory  to  Christ.  When 
today  men  live  patiently,  sweetly,  helpfully,  they 
too  are  a  glory  to  Christ.  Men  may  so  live  as 
to  disgrace  Christ's  name.  They  can  be  so  care- 
less, so  evil  that  they  drag  Christ's  name  in  the 
mire.  But  when,  like  Robert  Murray  McCheyne, 
they  spend  their  whole  energy  for  the  truth,  the 
name  of  Christ  is  honored.  When  like  Blaise  Pas- 
cal, constantly  subject  to  bodily  pain,  they  live  so 
patiently  that  their  very  voices  are  a  benediction, 
that  same  name  of  Christ  is  glorified. 

To   pray   that   a   Christian   may  bring   glory   to 

Christ's  name  is  to  pray  that  the  Christian's  heart 

may  be  so  filled  with  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit  that 

his  home  shall  reverence  his  piety,  that  society  shall 

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A  Mighty  Means  of  Usefulness 

feel  the  moral  omnipotence  of  his  goodness,  and 
that  the  world  shall  see  in  him,  as  in  a  mirror,  the 
very  reflection  of  the  spotless  Christ. 

This  culminating  petition  for  Paul  for  good  peo- 
ple concludes  with  a  remarkable  expression.  It  is, 
that  "ye  may  be  glorified  in  Him." 

The  branch  has  vitality  and  productiveness 
through  abiding  in  the  vine.  The  Christian  has 
beauty  and  power  through  abiding  in  Christ.  The 
branch  is  glorified  when  the  vine,  sending  its  sap 
into  the  branch,  causes  the  branch  to  bring  forth 
buds  and  clusters.  The  Christian  is  glorified  when 
Christ,  imparting  His  own  divine  life  to  the  Chris- 
tian, causes  him  to  bring  forth  the  fruits  of  right- 
eousness. No  glory  that  man  can  have  is  comparable 
to  the  glory  of  being  a  noble  Christian.  Learning, 
pomp,  applause  pale  into  insignificance  beside  good- 
ness. When  that  goodness  is  Christ-inspired  it  is 
transfiguringly  beautiful. 

Macaulay  wrote  concerning  ancient  Athens : 
"Her  power  is  indeed  manifest  at  the  bar,  in  the 
senate,  on  the  field  of  battle  and  in  the  school  of 
philosophy.  But  these  are  not  her  glory."  Then 
he  mentioned  her  literature.  He  described  it  as 
the  wisest  expression  of  her  best  men.  He  spoke 
of  the  comfort  and  inspiration  that  her  literature 

108 


Best  Requests  for  Best  People 

had  given  to  the  world.  Then  he  said :  "Her  liter- 
ature is  her  immortal  influence."  The  "glory"  of 
Athens  was  her  literature.  The  glory  of  a  man 
is  his  Christlike  character.  That  which  glorified 
Washington  was  his  unselfishness.  That  which 
glorified  Lincoln  was  his  benevolence.  It  was  not 
the  power  nor  the  position  of  Washington  and 
Lincoln  that  glorified  them,  but  it  was  their  good- 
ness. Not  the  houses,  not  the  farms,  not  the  wealth 
of  our  fathers  and  mothers — but  their  spirit,  of  love 
and  devotion,  glorifies  our  fathers  and  mothers  to 
our  hearts. 

To  pray  that  a  Christian  may  be  glorified  "in" 
Christ  is  to  pray  that  the  very  traits  of  Christ  may 
enter  into  and  possess  his  being.  Glorified  in  Christ 
is  to  be  rounded,  purified,  completed.  A  man  or 
woman  glorified  in  Christ  is  the  world's  highest, 
noblest  product. 

The  day  is  coming  when  Christ  will  appear  with 
His  angels,  in  majesty.  Then  all  who  have  lived 
godly  lives  shall  be  openly  acknowledged.  Angels 
seeing  them  will  praise  Christ  for  them  and  call 
them  trophies  of  His  love.  Every  John  Bunyan 
will  be  an  enhancement  to  Christ's  glory.  Every 
Timothy  will  be  a  star  in  Christ's  crown  of  rejoic- 
ing. The  nearer  to  God  men  lived,  the  brighter  on 
109 


A  Mighty  Means  of  Usefulness 

that  day  will  they  show  forth  Christ's  glory.  The 
more  they  strove  to  save  Christ's  world,  the  more 
will  their  contribution  to  Christ's  triumph  forever 
exalt  His  praise. 

Can  this  great  prayer  for  good  people  be  an- 
swered? Yes,  it  can.  We  have  every  encourage- 
ment to  pray  it.  The  words  with  which  Paul  con- 
cluded this  prayer  assured  him,  as  they  should  as- 
sure us,  that  God  can  answer  it.  Those  words  are, 
"according  to  the  grace  of  our  God  and  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ." 

That  "grace"  provided  a  plan  of  salvation.  That 
"grace"  brought  Jesus  Christ  to  earth.  That 
"grace"  opened  blind  eyes  and  raised  the  dead.  It 
beautified  a  John.  It  rescued  an  Augustine.  It 
has  worked  and  still  works  all  the  wonders  of  re- 
generation and  sanctification.  No  limit  can  be 
placed  upon  its  power.  It  can  change  the  vilest 
sinner  into  the  holiest  saint.  It  can  take  the  heart 
of  stone  and  make  it  the  heart  of  flesh.  It  can  im- 
plant in  dying  man  the  power  of  an  endless  life. 

We  may  offer  this  prayer  in  confidence.  God  is 
glad  to  hear  it  and  is  ready  to  answer  it.  He  bids 
us  do  good  unto  all  men,  especially  unto  them  who 
are  of  the  household  of  faith.  His  followers  are 
His  human  dependence.    He  wishes  them  to  stand 

no 


Best  Requests  for  Best  People 

among  their  fellows  as  Mt.  Blanc  stands  among  the 
mountains,  white,  pure,  and  towering.  He  wishes 
His  church  to  put  on  her  beautiful  garments.  He 
wishes  her  to  be  the  salvation  of  the  ends  of  the 
earth. 

The  very  best  people  need  our  intercession.  They 
are  called  by  God  to  defend  His  interests,  to  show 
forth  His  virtues  and  to  advance  His  cause.  The 
largest  duties  ever  devolved  upon  men  devolve 
upon  them.  They  are  exposed  to  severe  tempta- 
tions. If  they  fall,  great  is  their  fall  and  great  the 
consequent  harm  of  God's  name.  If  they  stand, 
they  accomplish  much  for  their  Lord.  They  appeal 
to  us  for  our  prayers,  as  Lincoln  appealed  to  his 
neighbors  for  their  prayers  when,  called  to  the  presi- 
dency of  the  United  States,  he  started  from  his 
home  toward  the  national  capital:  "A  duty  de- 
volves upon  me  which  is,  perhaps,  greater  than  that 
which  has  devolved  upon  any  other  man  since  the 
days  of  Washington.  He  would  never  have  suc- 
ceeded except  for  the  aid  of  divine  providence,  upon 
which  he  at  all  times  relied.  I  feel  that  I  can- 
not succeed  without  the  same  divine  aid  which  sus- 
tained him,  and  on  that  same  Almighty  Being  I 
place  my  reliance  for  support;  and  I  hope  you,  my 
friends,  will  all  pray  that  I  may  receive  that  divine 


A  Mighty  Means  of  Usefulness 

assistance  without  which  I  cannot  succeed,  but  with 
which  success  is  certain." 

Let  us  then  see  to  it  that  we  so  pray  for  these 
special  ones  that  they  shall  answer  to  their  high 
privileges  and  their  glorious  responsibilities.  Our 
prayer  for  them  is  safe  and  wise  when  we  pray : 

"That  our  God  would  count  you  worthy  of 
this  calling, 

"And  fulfil  all  the  pleasure  of  His  good- 
ness AND  THE  WORK  OF  FAITH  WITH  POWER  : 

"That  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
may  be  glorified  in  you  and  ye  in  hlm, 

"According  to  the  grace  of  our  God  and  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ." 


112 


•(Intercession  for  tbe  THnsa\>efc. 

It  is  an  interesting  fact  that  in  the  Bible  there  is 
not  a  single  recorded  prayer  for  the  unsaved.  There 
are  many  prayers,  fully  and  explicitly  recorded  for 
"God's  people,"  but  not  a  single  definitely  stated 
prayer  for  the  unsaved. 

The  explanation  of  this  fact  seems  to  be  two- 
fold. First,  the  epistles,  in  which  prayers  usually 
appear,  are  addressed  to  churches.  The  prayers 
in  these  epistles  always  deal  with  special  features 
of  Christian  experience.  The  second  explanation 
of  the  omission  of  prayer  for  the  unsaved  is  that 
the  Bible  does  not  attempt  to  divide  all  men  into 
two  recognizable  classes,  labeling  one  "the  saved" 
and  the  other  "the  unsaved,"  and  then  instructing 
each  class  by  itself.  The  Bible  addresses  itself  to 
all  alike.  It  calls  upon  every  person  irrespective  of 
his  confession  or  denial  of  the  Christian  name,  to 
do  justly,  to  love  mercy  and  to  walk  humbly  with 
God.  The  words  of  Christ  as  given  in  Gospel  nar- 
ratives  and    the   words    of   apostles    as    given   in 

**3 


A  Mighty  Means  of  Usefulness 

apostolic  letters,  when  heard  in  a  church  congrega- 
tion, appear  to  be  directed  to  every  soul  in  the  con- 
gregation. These  words  are  so  inclusive  of  all, 
that  every  hearer  feels  that  they  are  intended  for 
him.  So  it  is  that  the  prayers  for  the  best  people 
may  be  offered  for  any  and  all  people. 

It  is  true,  however,  that  while  no  human  eyes  can 
detect  unerringly  who  are  the  real  Christians  and 
who  are  not  the  real  Christians,  people  do  differ  in 
their  attitude  toward  Christ.  He  Himself  spoke  of 
two  classes  as  existing  in  His  day — those  that  were 
for  Him,  and  those  that  were  against  Him.  These 
classes  always  exist.  Some  persons  are  striving  to 
follow  Christ's  will,  and  some  are  not.  Some  per- 
sons are  "in  Christ"  and  some  are  "out  of  Christ." 
Often  it  is  difficult  to  draw  a  dividing  line  between 
these  two  classes.  In  this  matter,  as  in  many  an- 
other matter,  there  is  a  "border-land"  where  people 
of  different  classes  appear  very  much  alike.  Her- 
bert Spencer  speaks  of  "the  indefinite  border-land 
between  the  animal  and  vegetable  kingdoms"  where 
animals  and  vegetables  are  scarcely  distinguishable. 
In  the  border-land  between  the  saved  and  the  un- 
saved no  eye  but  that  of  omniscience  can  discriminate 
with  absolute  accuracy. 

But  when  we  move  farther  and  farther  away 
114 


Intercession  for  the  Unsaved 

from  this  border-land,  in  either  direction,  evidence 
becomes  so  definite  that  with  much  assurance  we 
say  of  those  on  one  side,  "These  certainly  seem  to 
us  to  be  saved,"  and  of  those  on  the  other  side 
"These  certainly  seem  to  us  to  be  unsaved."  To 
God's  eye  there  never  is  obscurity :  with  Him  a 
man  is  always  seen  to  be  "for"  Him  or  "against" 
Him. 

The  unsaved  rest  with  great  weight  on  the  hearts 
of  earnest  men.  As  the  original  Greek  expression 
seems  to  indicate,  the  desire  of  Paul's  heart  and 
the  prayer  of  all  his  prayers  was  that  men  might 
be  "saved."  David  Brainerd  was  similarly  bur- 
dened with  desire  for  the  salvation  of  men.  He 
traveled  the  forests  and  swamps  of  Massachusetts 
in  dead  of  winter,  kneeling  in  the  snow  and  beseech- 
ing God  to  save  the  Indians.  Asleep  he  dreamed 
of  their  salvation,  awake  his  first  thought  was  of 
their  rescue.  The  absorbing  love  of  souls  that  has 
animated  some  hearts  cannot  be  exaggerated.  The 
thirst  for  gold  that  compelled  men  to  seek  Cali- 
fornia and  Alaska  has  not  been  so  strong  as  that 
thirst  which  has  caused  Christian  hearts  to  pray 
unceasingly  for  the  unsaved.  John  Smith,  the  de- 
voted Wesleyan  preacher,  used  to  say  "I  am  a 
broken-hearted  man,  not  for  myself,  but  on  account 
"5 


A  Mighty  Means  of  Usefulness 

of  others :  my  God  has  given  me  such  a  sight  of  the 
value  of  precious  souls,  that  I  cannot  live  if  souls 
are  not  saved.    Oh,  give  me  souls,  or  else  I  die." 

Intelligent  prayer  for  the  unsaved  should  bear 
in  mind  that  they  need  to  be  saved  from  their 
unconcern. 

Monica's  first  thought  was,  "Oh,  that  my  son, 
Augustine,  may  be  awakened  to  a  sense  of  his  sit- 
uation !"  He  seemed  to  her  like  a  man  asleep  in  a 
boat  that  is  gliding  to  a  cataract.  He  talked  with 
the  wise,  laughed  with  the  merry  and  companioned 
with  the  vicious.  He  frittered  away  his  splendid 
powers  of  mind  and  body,  seemingly  unconscious 
of  his  fatal  tendencies.  Monica  prayed  that  God 
would  rouse  him  from  his  unconcern.  In  the  old 
home  in  Africa  she  prayed  for  him.  On  the  Med- 
iterranean she  prayed  for  him.  In  Europe  she 
prayed  for  him.    Sleep  went  from  her! 

Saved  from  unconcern !  So  many  are  going  the 
way  of  death  heedlessly.  They  eat,  drink  and  play : 
they  labor,  they  sleep — and  all  the  while  secondary 
things  are  the  end  and  aim  of  their  living.  Many 
a  man  is  like  Jonah — not  a  profligate,  but  simply 
a  deserter  from  duty.  Jonah  slept  on  that  storm 
tossed  vessel — disloyal  as  he  was  to  himself,  to 
his  fellows  and  to  his  God.     Above  the  storm  the. 


Intercession  for  the  Unsaved 

shipmaster's  cry  was  needed:  "What  meanst  thou, 
O  sleeper,  arise  and  call  upon  thy  God  if  so  be  that 
God  will  think  upon  us  that  we  perish  not."  Jonah's 
safety  was  dependent  upon  an  awakening-.  The 
first  thing  we  must  ask  God  to  do  for  the  unsaved 
is  to  make  them  think.  In  answer  to  Stephen's 
prayer  God  stopped  Saul  on  his  way  to  Damascus 
and  forced  him  to  realize  his  position.  Thus  God 
aroused  him  from  his  unconcern.  The  beginning 
of  my  own  salvation  was  when  the  Holy  Spirit 
brought  me  face  to  face  with  the  questions,  "What 
does  Jesus  Christ  wish  of  you?"  "Are  you  doing 
what  He  wishes?"  It  was  when  the  prodigal  "came 
to  himself"  and  pondered  his  situation,  that  hope 
for  his  salvation  dawned.  The  first  step  toward 
heaven  is  the  step  away  from  unconcern. 

Prayer  for  the  unsaved  should  bear  in  mind  that 
they  need  to  be  saved  from  their  error. 

This  thought  was  especially  prominent  in  Paul's 
mind  when  he  prayed  for  his  own  kinsmen.  Their 
views  of  religion  were  wrong.  They  thought  it  im- 
possible that  a  penitent  so  soon  as  he  came  to  God 
could  be  forgiven  and  welcomed.  They  held  that 
through  prayers,  tithes  and  sacrifices  the  sinner 
must  work  out  his  own  perfection  and  thus  make 
himself  worthy  of  God's  blessing.  They  were  in 
117 


A  Mighty  Means  of  Usefulness 

error.  No  one,  though  he  lives  a  thousand  years 
of  effort,  can  ever,  of  himself,  become  perfect.  For 
acceptance  God  does  not  require  perfection,  but 
penitence.  God  simply  asks  the  soul  to  see  in  Jesus 
Christ  the  righteousness  which  God  freely  offers, 
and  then  to  appropriate  that  righteousness. 

There  is  widespread  need  of  the  prayer,  "Save 
them  from  error."  Missionaries  in  lands  of  idol- 
atry need  to  have  it  on  their  lips  daily.  The  people 
around  them  misconceive  the  nature  of  God  and 
misconceive  the  methods  of  propitiating  Him.  As 
the  missionaries  realize  the  superstitions  of  the 
heathen  they  exclaim  again  and  again,  "Come, 
Lord,  in  Thy  power  and  deliver  the  people  from 
their  blindness." 

The  prayer  is  equally  needed  in  Gospel  lands. 
Many  persons  hear  the  truth  all  their  days  and 
still  remain  ignorant  of  its  meaning.  I  myself  felt 
for  years  that  to  be  a  Christian  would  be  to  limit 
my  freedom,  not  enlarge  it :  would  be  to  diminish 
my  joy,  not  increase  it.  God  appeared  to  me  to  be 
a  hard  master.  The  service  of  Christ's  cross  seemed 
forbidding;  the  service  of  my  own  gratification 
seemed  satisfying.  Hundreds  of  others,  like  my- 
self, need  to  be  "saved"  from  such  views.  Satan 
is  a  jealous  jailer.  He  holds  fast  many  souls  in 
iiS 


Intercession  for  the  Unsaved 

such  beliefs  as — that  the  faults  of  others  are  an 
excuse  for  their  own  deficiency ;  that  ideals  of  con- 
duct adopted  without  reference  to  divine  revela- 
tion are  all  that  are  required ;  that  cherished  grudges 
are  of  small  import,  and  that  postponement  of 
obedience  to  God  is  safe.  All  such  beliefs  keep 
people  back  from  salvation :  they  darken  the  eyes 
of  the  understanding  and  often  they  lead  lives  into 
immorality. 

But  there  is  power  in  prayer  to  save  from  all 
errors.  The  father  of  John  G.  Paton  knelt  every 
night  for  years  in  the  little  Scotch  home  and  made 
his  intercession.  "I  have  heard,"  wrote  his  son  in 
his  own  autobiography,  "that  in  long  after  years 
the  worst  woman  in  the  village  of  Torthorwald, 
then  leading  an  immoral  life  but  since  changed  by 
the  grace  of  God,  was  known  to  declare  that  the 
only  thing  that  kept  her  from  despair  and  from 
the  hell  of  the  suicide,  was  when  in  the  dark  win- 
ter nights  she  crept  close  up  underneath  my  father's 
window,  and  heard  him  pleading  in  family  worship 
that  God  would  convert  'the  sinner  from  the  error 
of  wicked  ways  and  polish  him  as  a  jewel  for  the 
Redeemer's  crown.'  "  "I  felt,"  said  she,  "that  I 
was  a  burden  on  that  good  man's  heart,  and  I  knew 
that  God  would  not  disappoint  him.  That  thought 
119 


A  Mighty  Means  of  Usefulness 

kept  me  out  of  hell  and  at  last  led  me  to  the  only 
Saviour." 

Prayer  for  the  unsaved  should  bear  in  mind  that 
they  need  to  be  saved  from  their  sin. 

To  be  saved  from  sin  is  to  be  saved  from  its 
guilt,  its  power  and  its  corruption.  Sin  is  the  vio- 
lation of  God's  law.  To  violate  human  law  renders 
the  violator  guilty.  He  is  guilty  until  in  some  way 
his  guilt  is  removed.  He  is  not  and  cannot  be  a 
full  citizen  so  long  as  his  guilt  remains.  Nor  can 
the  man  who  violates  God's  law  be  other  than 
guilty  before  God  until  in  some  way  he  is  saved 
from  his  guilt. 

It  is  fearful  to  be  guilty  before  God.  Guilt  is 
cruelty  toward  God  and  peril  toward  ourselves 
Cruelty  toward  God,  because  it  means  wilful  re- 
sistance to  the  most  tender  of  all  tender  hearts 
peril  toward  ourselves,  because  were  final  judg- 
ment to  be  pronounced  immediately,  our  guilt  would 
be  our  condemnation.  He  who  loves  a  soul  that  is 
in  sin  will  pray  that  it  be  saved  from  sin's  guilt. 

He  will  pray  too  that  it  be  saved  from  sin's 
power.  The  power  of  sin  is  seen  in  the  drunkard 
His  drunkenness  is  his  master.  In  the  morning 
he  wishes  always  to  be  sober:  in  the  evening  he 
is  again  a  captive  to  his  drunkenness.     So  too  with 

I20 


Intercession  for  the  Unsaved 

the  habitual  thief,  or  slanderer,  or  backbiter :  they 
are  held  prisoners  by  their  sins.  Many  a  sweet 
spirited  person  when  asked  to  be  a  Christian  re- 
plies "I  cannot.  My  will  breaks  down  every  time 
I  try." 

Paul  knew  the  power  of  sin.  He  exclaimed>  "Oh, 
wretched  man  that  I  am,  who  shall  deliver  me 
from  the  body  of  this  death?"  He  felt  that,  like 
a  man  chained  to  a  corpse,  he  was  chained  to  sin. 
Sin  hindered  him.  It  hinders  others — those  who 
today  are  in  bondage  to  impure  thoughts,  or  dis- 
honest practices  or  selfish  ambitions.  They  need 
to  have  their  chains  broken  and  to  be  released 
from  evil.  Prayer  was  made  for  John  B.  Gough 
and  he  was  saved  from  the  power  of  drunkenness, 
for  Jerry  McAuley,  and  he  was  saved  from  the 
power  of  stealing.  Prayer  was  made  for  Lady 
Huntington  and  she  was  saved  from  the  power  of 
worldliness.  Prayer  will  avail  for  those  today  en- 
chanted by  the  love  of  money  or  display,  and  for 
those  held  by  the  silken  hawser  of  self-indulgence. 
A  man  is  never  free  until  he  is  saved  from  the 
power  of  sin. 

Then  there  is  the  corruption  of  sin.  Sin  is  a 
malaria  in  the  soul :  it  vitiates  taste,  it  weakens 
strength,   it  spoils  appetite   for  good.     Sin  crazes 

121 


A  Mighty  Means  of  Usefulness 

reason :  it  causes  Barabbas  to  seem  preferable  to 
Christ.  Under  the  corruption  of  sin  men  take 
"naturally"  to  evil.  Unless  that  corruption  is 
checked  it,  like  leprosy  with  the  body,  pollutes  the 
whole  system.  No  one  can  check  it  but  God.  Even 
He  can  check  it  only  by  making  of  man  a  new  crea- 
ture— with  a  new  disposition  and  a  new  purpose. 
This  God  is  glad  to  do.  "A  new  heart  will  I  give 
you."  This  promise  God  has  fulfilled  thousands 
and  thousands  of  times.  Men  who  hated  Him 
have  come  to  love  Him.  They  have  been  rescued 
from  death  and  made  alive  in  Jesus  Christ.  The 
faces  that  were  set  earthward  have  been  set  heaven- 
ward. Instead  of  becoming  more  and  more  cor- 
rupted by  sin,  they  have  been  saved  from  all  sin's 
disease  and  all  sin's  misery,  and  been  brought  to 
holiness  and  joy.  Surely  we  do  well  when  we  pray 
for  others,  "Save  them,  O  God,  from  the  terrible 
guilt,  the  awful  power  and  the  ruinous  corruption 
of  sin." 

Prayer  for  the  unsaved  should  bear  in  mind  that 
they  need  to  be  saved  from  their  alienation. 

The  prodigal  boy  in  the  far  country  is  away  from 
home  and  fellowship.  The  prayer  that  he  may  be 
saved  involves  more  than  deliverance  from  wrong: 
it  involves  also  adoption  of  right.    It  asks  that  the 

122 


Intercession  for  the  Unsaved 

boy  may  receive  his  Father's  kiss  and  welcome, 
that  the  sense  of  God's  love  may  flow  in  on  his  soul, 
that  peace  may  be  established  between  him  and 
God,  and  that  fellowship  with  his  Father  may  be 
forever  his.  To  be  saved  is  to  be  delivered  out 
of  the  life  of  evil  and  brought  into  the  life  of  God, 
so  that  the  sunlight  seems  brighter  than  ever  be- 
fore and  the  feast  of  the  Lord  is  the  strength  of 
the  soul. 

Such  salvation — of  happiness,  health  and  safety — 
is  salvation  indeed.  The  soul  thus  saved  is  at  one 
with  God,  growing  more  like  Him  and  becoming 
better  prepared  for  God's  immediate  presence.  It 
matters  not  whether  the  consciousness  of  such 
reconciliation  with  God  comes  to  a  man  in  a  par- 
ticular hour  or  comes  in  the  course  of  years.  It 
is  enough  that  the  man  takes  on  larger  strength 
and  beauty,  becoming  increasingly  loyal  to  Christ 
and  increasingly  satisfied  with  Christ's  service.  Not 
until  Paul  is  ready  to  die  can  he  say  "I  have  fought 
the  good  fight."  Nor  may  anyone  expect  that  the 
process  of  salvation  will  cease  this  side  of  heaven. 
Every  man  must  struggle  and  endure  unto  the  end 
— to  be  fully  saved. 

But  when  that  end  comes  and  heaven  is  entered, 
then  salvation  is  complete.  Saved  from  uncon- 
123 


A  Mighty  Means  of  Usefulness 

cern,  God's  servants  see  His  face.  Saved  from 
error,  they  walk  in  God's  light.  Saved  from  sin, 
they  dwell  where  there  is  no  more  curse.  Saved 
from  separation,  they  are  forever  with  the  Lord. 

"Perchance  in  heaven,  one  day  to  me 
Some  blessed  soul  will  come  and  say 
'All  hail,  beloved !    But  for  thee 
My  soul  to  death  had  been  a  prey.' 
Ah,  then,  what  sweetness  in  the  thought 
One  soul  to  glory  to  have  brought !" 

Some  years  ago  in  Springfield,  Illinois,  an  earn- 
est man  gathered  about  him  a  praying  band  and 
made  this  suggestion  to  them:  "When  you  reach 
home  this  evening  write  down  the  names  of  all 
persons  in  Springfield  whom  you  would  like  to 
have  saved,  and  then  pray  for  them  by  name,  three 
times  a  day,  that  they  may  be  saved.  Then  make 
your  best  possible  efforts  to  induce  those  persons 
to  turn  to  God  for  salvation." 

There  resided  in  Springfield  at  that  time  an 
invalid  woman  who  physically  was  almost  abso- 
lutely helpless.  She  had  been  bed-ridden  for  seven- 
teen years.  She  had  been  for  a  long  time  praying 
to  God  in  a  general  way  to  save  a  multitude  of 
souls.  When  her  family  told  her  of  the  suggestion 
made   to   the   praying   band,    she    said:    "Here   is 

124 


Intercession  for  the  Unsaved 

something  I  can  do."  She  could  use  her  right  hand. 
There  was  an  adjustable  writing  table  at  the  side 
of  her  bed.  She  asked  for  pen  and  paper.  She 
wrote  down  the  names  of  fifty-seven  acquaintances. 
She  prayed  for  each  of  these  by  name  three  times  a 
day.  She  wrote  them  letters  telling  them  of  her 
interest  in  them.  She  also  wrote  to  Christian 
friends,  in  whom  she  knew  these  persons  had  confi- 
dence, and  urged  them  to  speak  to  these  persons 
about  their  souls'  welfare  and  to  do  their  best  to 
persuade  them  to  repent  and  believe.  She  had  un- 
questioning faith  in  God.  In  her  humble,  earnest 
dependence  upon  Him  she  thus  interceded  for  the 
unsaved.  In  time  every  one  of  those  fifty-seven 
persons  avowed  faith  in  Jesus  Christ  as  his  Saviour. 

It  is  worth  while  to  intercede  for  the  unsaved. 
General  Gordon  always  bore  particular  individuals 
on  his  heart.  He  prayed  for  them :  he  prayed  for 
each  of  them.  He  entered  their  names  upon  a  reg- 
ister. Affectionately,  earnestly,  wisely  he  entreated 
them  to  accept  Christ's  blessed  salvation.  By  fol- 
lowing this  course,  though  he  was  in  military  service 
and  in  active  enterprise,  he  lived  to  see  scores  of 
lives  brought  to  God  as  the  fruit  of  his  intercession. 

"Pray  the  largest  prayer.  You  cannot  think  of 
a  prayer  so  large  that  God,  in  answering  it,  will 

*25 


A  Mighty  Means  of  Usefulness 

not  wish  that  you  had  made  it  larger.  Pray  not 
for  crutches,  but  for  wings."  Yes,  we  cannot  think 
of  a  prayer  so  large  for  the  unsaved  that  God  will 
not  wish  that  we  had  made  it  larger.  He  asks  His 
people  to  intercede  in  behalf  of  the  unsaved.  The 
unsaved  are  very  precidus  to  Him.  Christ  longs 
for  their  salvation  even  with  travail  of  soul. 
Eagerly  he  awaits  our  efforts  for  them.  For  to 
us  He  has  committed  the  ministry  of  reconciliation. 
Every  heart  then  that  is  burdened  with  the  salva- 
tion of  a  friend  becomes  companion  to  Christ  and 
shares  in  His  travail  of  soul.  The  honor  of  such 
companionship  !  It  is  admission  to  the  holy  of  holies 
of  Christ's  heart.  It  is  participation  in  His  in- 
tensest  passion.  It  is  sharing  in  the  greatest  burden 
He  today  is  carrying. 

Surely  when  the  days  of  earthly  life  are  over  and 
men  and  women  enter  heaven,  they  that  on  earth 
shared  Christ's  travail  will  in  heaven  share  Christ's 
joy.  Their  previous  experience  will  prepare  them 
to  appreciate  that  joy.  Monica  who  interceded  will, 
because  she  interceded,  enjoy  the  more  the  triumphs 
of  redeeming  grace.  So  too  will  every  praying 
soul  that  brought  another  life  to  eternal  glory,  have 
its  own  especial  gladness  and  peace. 

May  God  ordain  a  new  band  of  men  who  today 
126 


Intercession  for  the  Unsaved 

and  here  being  one  with  Christ  in  His  travail  for 
souls  shall  be  the  means,  under  God,  of  bringing 
many  souls  to  Christ's  perfect  salvation. 

And  may  you  and  I  see  to  it  that  we  enroll  our- 
selves in  that  band  and  henceforth  keep  not  silence 
day  nor  night  as  we  intercede,  with  strong  cryings 
and  tears — for  individuals — whom  we  name  before 
God — for  His  gracious,  holy  and  eternal  salvation. 


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